'I’m Probably Looking At An Extension With What I Did': Darvin Ham Laments On LA Lakers Coaching Experience

The Lakers’ failing expectations under Darvin Ham caused him to be fired by the team last May. However, he gave them the NBA Cup championship, a relieving feat amidst criticisms of his lack of in-game flexibility.

In an interview with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, Ham shared his dissatisfaction with the Lakers kicking him, believing they were too focused on his playoff losses while overlooking how he brought the team to that spot in the first place.

“To do as well as I did… I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension. I’m not talking feelings, just facts,” Ham said.

“They go from not making the playoffs to the Conference Finals, and we won the in-season tournament… people always talk about us losing to Denver, but they don’t talk about how we got to Denver. We beat a kick-a-- young squad in Memphis, and we beat Stephen Curry and Golden State.”

Darvin Ham returns to the Milwaukee Bucks after coaching the Lakers for two seasons. He defended his NBA Cup championship this season, seeing the Bucks emerge victorious in the in-season tournament.

Darvin Ham’s former player “smarter” than him according to analyst

Darvin Ham managed two years with the LA Lakers, bringing them to the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Cup trophy throughout his career. However, for ex-NBA player Gilbert Arenas, Ham failed to connect with his players’ basketball prowess, particularly LeBron James.

In his podcast last Friday, Arenas responded to Darvin Ham’s comments about his time with the Lakers, claiming that Ham fell off James’ expectations of intelligence, resulting in his dismissal from the team.

“Your star player’s probably smarter than you. And the fact that your star player is smarter than you, that’s a hard job to have. You literally have to talk to LeBron’s ego. … For him to accept you, it’s like talking to some genius. … You have to outsmart him,” Arenas said.

“LeBron’s basketball IQ is so high, if you don’t speak the same lingo as him, he’s not listening to you,” the analyst added.

Arenas further compared James, a “prodigy,” outsmarting Darvin Ham, this time as a high school teacher. Despite the criticisms against the assistant coach, the analyst’s episode also acknowledged Ham had a better run with the Lakers than the coaches of the previous decade.