The Los Angeles Lakers didn't last too long in the NBA playoffs as compared to last season when they made a run from the Play-In Tournament all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Instead, they were resoundingly defeated by the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
Given how things transpired this season, the writing appeared to be on the wall for Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. With the team having a sense of urgency, especially with LeBron James' career winding down, a head coaching change felt inevitable. In fact, the belief was that Ham would be removed from his role by the end of the week following the Lakers' elimination.
Sure enough, on Friday, the Lakers officially terminated Ham from his contract, bringing an end to his tenure after two seasons, holding a 90-74 regular season record and a 9-12 playoff record.
Let's just say that some Lakers fans were ecstatic about the news that the Lakers will be in the market for a new head coach.
Best memes and tweets of Lakers fans reacting to Darvin Ham firing
The Lakers were in need of a head coach in 2021 after they fired Frank Vogel one year after they won the NBA Championship in the Orlando bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lakers focused on Ham to be their head coach, who had been an assistant on the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks.
As mentioned earlier, Ham succeeded in his first year, leading the team all the way to the Western Conference Finals. This year, however, the Lakers could only get in as a No. 7 seed. As ESPN's Dave McMenamin points out, in the Lakers' series against the Nuggets, they were unable to hold double-digit leads in all four of their losses.
Now, it's up to the Lakers to find Ham's replacement that can put them over the top next season. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski listed Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, J.J. Redick, and Ty Lue as potential candidates.