The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly settled on Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as the team’s next head coach.
The Lakers had been looking for a new head coach after firing Frank Vogel on April 11 having led the team for three seasons.
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Vogel led the Lakers to an NBA Championship in 2020, but oversaw a significant downturn in performances over the coming years as a tumultuous 2021 season saw the Lakers miss out on the postseason altogether.
Ham, who was an assistant coach at the Lakers from 2011 to 2013, has never been a head coach in the NBA before.
But according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Ham will get his first taste of life as a head coach after accepting the Lakers’ offer.
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Ham was one of three finalists for the job alongside former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts and former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson.
Despite the other candidates having more experience in the position, Ham beat them and will lead one of the most iconic teams in world sport.
Ham enjoyed a nine-year playing career in the NBA which included a Larry O’Brien trophy in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons.
The 48-year-old will also be moving away from Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer for the first time since 2013.
The duo worked at the Atlanta Hawks from 2013 to 2018 before both moved together to the Bucks, where they led the team to a championship in 2021.
Ham is now tasked with turning the Lakers around after they slumped to a poor record of 33-49 in 20201.