Darvin Ham won 90 games in 2 seasons as coach of the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the offseason searching for a new coach.
The Lakers dismissed coach Darvin Ham after two seasons, the team announced today. Ham was 90-74 in that span with two playoff berths, a run to the 2023 Western Conference Finals and a championship in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Lakers Part Ways With Head Coach Darvin Ham pic.twitter.com/or3Bx2mZ5w
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) May 3, 2024
“We greatly appreciate Darvin Ham’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons including last year’s remarkable run to the Western Conference finals,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.
“We all want to thank Darvin for this dedication and positivity. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season. The organization will remain unwavering in its commitment to deliver championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world.”
The Lakers experienced a disappointing 47-35 campaign in 2023-24 that ended with a loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs in five games.
The Lakers were in the Play-In Tournament both seasons under Ham and, while he ultimately led them to the postseason both times, the West Finals run in 2022-23 raised the stakes considerably for L.A. this season.
Los Angeles led the defending champion Nuggets for long stretches of their first-round series, but Nikola Jokic and his teammates eventually rolled into the West semifinals.
Impact on Lakers: Los Angeles enters the offseason with plenty of questions even before the coaching change. Ham was seen as being on the hot seat after a second straight loss to the Nuggets, the first of which came in a 4-0 sweep in the West Finals.
The Lakers’ failure this season stung because LeBron James and Anthony Davis were largely healthy all year long, with both superstars playing more games than they had managed in an NBA season since 2017-18 — 76 for Davis and 71 for James, the leading scorer in NBA history. D’Angelo Russell also had a strong regular season, setting the franchise record for 3-pointers.
That health and success only translated into a four-win improvement in the standings from last season, and Ham received much of the blame from fans and observers for his game management, slow tactical adjustments and a reluctance to change his player rotations and starting lineups, even when things weren’t working.
Injuries, inconsistent play and a mediocre defense paved the way for a difficult middle of the season. The Lakers went 3-10 during the holiday period immediately after the In-Season Tournament.
Ham was widely criticized, at times, for his lineups and rotations during that poor stretch — among other decisions, he curiously benched Russell and Austin Reaves while giving extensive playing time to Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish.
However, the Lakers rallied and went 23-10 to close out the season and beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the SoFi Play-In Tournament to earn the No. 7 seed in the West.
James and fellow star Anthony Davis both hold player options for 2024-25, which they must exercise by June 29. Provided they both return, the Lakers’ core rotation players who are also under contract for next season are D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Reaves, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka then must determine whether he can make the long-anticipated move for a third superstar through trades, or whether he believes the assertions by Hachimura and other role players that the Lakers can become a contender with more continuity.
Russell has an $18.7 million player option after the sharpshooting guard excelled in the regular season and flopped in the playoffs, infamously going scoreless in the Lakers’ Game 3 loss to Denver. After Los Angeles was knocked out of the playoffs on Monday, the point guard said he has “a little leverage. I’ll try to take advantage of it.”
James, Davis and the Lakers have failed to win a playoff round in three of their four seasons since winning the 2020 championship in the Florida bubble.
Ham had two years left on his contract with the Lakers, who will be hiring their fourth coach since James arrived in 2018. The new coach will be the Lakers’ eighth in 14 seasons since Hall of Famer Phil Jackson’s departure in 2011.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
