The Angeles Lakers fired their head coach, Frank Vogel in April, after a disappointing 33-49 season. After one of the most disappointing seasons in NBA history, General Manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss came to a mutual conclusion that firing Vogel was the right choice.
The Los Angeles Lakers officially announced Darvin Ham is their new coach on Monday. Additionally, Rob Pelinka praised him for his demeanor, approach, and understanding gained from coaching for three seasons in the NBA G League.
Ham becomes the 28th coach for the Lakers and takes on the most high-profile job in the league as a head coach. When asked about why he is different from Vogel, he replied, “I was shot in the face by accident April 5, 1988. You go through something like that, it’s gonna do one of two things. It’s gonna make you fearful or fearless. It made me fearless. I don’t feel no pressure.”
“I was shot in the face by accident April 5, 1988. You go through something like that, it’s gonna do one of two things.” – Darvin Ham pic.twitter.com/acKCBOGLzi
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 7, 2022
Ham will become the NBA’s 15th Black coach, the most ever at one time. With the exception of Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat, who is Asian-American, there are now 16 coaches from black or minority ethnic origins, a majority for the first time ever.
Despite another strong season from LeBron James, the Lakers finished last, despite the fact that he greeted his new head coach on social media even before the news was made public.
So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and welcome Coach DHam!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 #LakeShow💜💛
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 28, 2022
Ham has previously played eight seasons with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and won a championship as well before he became a coach in 2008.
Ham is said to have made an impression on the Lakers in a number of ways, including his championship background, dominating appearance, history of coaching superstars, and toughness. Ham will begin putting together a coaching team, which is believed to include head coaching expertise.
