"We are proud to name Darvin Ham as our new coach. Our players and fans will immediately identify with his pragmatic, hard-working approach," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said.
LA superstar LeBron James did not wait for the formalization of this appointment to welcome the arrival of his new coach.
“So EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congratulations and welcome to Coach DHam!” he tweeted on May 28.
Ham lands the most coveted job of the NBA offseason, since the sacking of Frank Vogel, who failed to lead the Lakers to the play-offs, after a regular season marked by injuries to Anthony Davis and LeBron James, as well as the failed recruitment of Russell Westbrook.
He, who had never yet been at the head of a team, was however not the most experienced of the candidates, facing former head coaches such as Terry Stotts in Portland, Kenny Atkinson in Brooklyn or Mark Jackson in Golden State. .
Aged 48, Ham was an NBA player for eight seasons, notably winning a ring in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons, of which he was a substitute.
His first experience as a coach in the league started in 2011, with the … Lakers.
During two rather tormented seasons in LA, he was successively the assistant of Mike Brown, Bernie Bickerstaff and Mike D'Antoni.
Whereupon he went to reinforce the staff of Mike Budenholzer then Atlanta coach (2013-2018), who kept him by going to the Bucks.
© 2022 AFP