LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Darvin Ham on Friday after two seasons manning the sidelines. The Lakers will now open a job search in hopes of discovering the fitting particular person to maximise what figures to be the ultimate chapter of LeBron James’ storied profession whereas returning the crew to championship rivalry.
Ham, who had two years remaining on his contract, went 90-74 (.549) through the common season and 9-12 (.429) within the postseason — which doesn’t embody his two play-in match wins — since being employed to interchange Frank Vogel in 2022. He additionally guided the Lakers to the inaugural in-season match title in Las Vegas in December.
The choice got here simply days after the Lakers had been eradicated by the Denver Nuggets for the second straight season, this time in 5 video games within the first spherical after being swept by Denver within the convention finals a yr in the past.
“We tremendously respect Darvin Ham’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and acknowledge the numerous accomplishments achieved over the previous two seasons together with final yr’s outstanding run to the Western Convention finals,” Rob Pelinka, Lakers vp of basketball operations and basic supervisor, stated in a press release. “All of us need to thank Darvin for this dedication and positivity. Whereas this was a tough determination to make, it’s the finest plan of action following a full overview of the season. The group will stay unwavering in its dedication to ship championship-caliber basketball to Lakers followers around the globe.”
Regardless of James (71 video games) and Anthony Davis (76) enjoying their most mixed video games since turning into teammates in L.A. in 2018, the Lakers solely earned the No. 7 seed in a crowded Western Convention area, organising the showdown with the No. 2-seeded Nuggets.
The Lakers failed to guard a double-digit lead in all 4 of their losses within the collection, together with a 20-point second-half lead in Recreation 2.
“It has been a hell of a two years … I am going to let you know that,” Ham stated Monday after L.A. was eradicated. “Sitting on this seat, it has been a hell of a two years. Loads of good issues that received carried out, however in the end, you need to win that final prize.”
Ham inherited a Lakers crew coming off one of the vital disappointing seasons within the historical past of the franchise, when it went 33-49 in 2021-22 and did not qualify for the postseason after it traded a number of position gamers who had been important to L.A.’s 2020 title for Russell Westbrook.
L.A. began off 2-10 in Ham’s first season, and the roster was utterly overhauled in a collection of strikes main as much as the commerce deadline. The crew parted methods with Westbrook and retooled with D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura to enhance holdovers James, Davis and Austin Reaves.
That crew beat the Minnesota Timberwolves within the play-in match to earn the No. 7 seed and went on to upset the No. 2-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and No. 6-seeded Golden State Warriors earlier than falling to the top-seeded Nuggets. Denver went on to win its first championship in franchise historical past.
This season, the Lakers had an underwhelming begin as soon as once more by going 3-5, then stumbled by a 4-11 stretch following the in-season match title, dropping them to No. 13 within the West in mid-January. L.A. rallied to complete the season 23-10 — the fifth-best report within the league from Feb. 1 by mid-April — and beat the New Orleans Pelicans within the play-in match to earn the No. 7 seed once more.
Final yr, the Nuggets swept the Lakers within the playoffs and outscored them by 24 factors of their 4 wins; this time round, it took Denver 5 video games, and the mixed margin of victory was 22 factors within the 4 wins.
