Bucks’ Ham perplexed by not getting HC extension from Lakers

Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham is still questioning why he didn’t get an extension to stay on as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

“To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts. They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals. And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries, and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs.”

Ham added: “People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver. We beat a kick-ass young squad in Memphis, and we beat Golden State.”

Los Angeles dismissed Ham after he compiled a 90-74 record as the team’s head coach over two seasons.

The 51-year-old guided the Lakers to a Western Conference finals appearance in the 2022-23 season before getting swept by the Denver Nuggets, who won the NBA championship that year.

L.A. improved its record and won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023-24, but the Nuggets again defeated the Lakers in the first round of the postseason.

Despite the on-court success, Ham received plenty of criticism from social media about his Xs and Os and rotations and even felt some heat inside the Lakers’ locker room. Big man Anthony Davis questioned Ham’s coaching during the 2024 Nuggets series, saying the team had “stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor.”

However, Ham said he believes he did enough to deserve an extension and that “the expectations can be unrealistic at certain points in time.”

“It’s being reported like I’m just throwing some lineups up against the wall to see what sticks,” said Ham. “No, man, we were really navigating a lot from guys being hurt to having the oldest player in the league (James) to navigating A.D.’s injury history. It was a lot.

“Some of the shit that was coming out? Wow, bro, I don’t know Xs and Os? I was winging it. Dude, that was the most disappointing stuff, how mean and so much stuff people are saying online. The best thing I could do was block out the outside noise.”

The Lakers replaced Ham with first-time coach JJ Redick. L.A. is off to a 14-12 start to the campaign, which is one less win than the club put up through 26 games last season.

Ham joined Doc Rivers’ coaching staff in Milwaukee in the offseason, and the team is sitting at 14-11 after winning 12 of its last 15 contests.

The Bucks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Las Vegas on Tuesday to win the NBA Cup. The victory made Ham a two-time NBA Cup champion and 16-0 in the tournament between the Lakers and Bucks.

Milwaukee hosts the Lakers on March 13. Ham returns to L.A. on March 18. The Bucks, who sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, return to action Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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