The Los Angeles Lakers officially announced the hiring of Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their next head coach on Friday, with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka highlighting Ham’s “no-nonsense and hard-working approach.”
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Ham inked a four-year contract with the Lakers.
Ham, 48, has been an assistant coach in the NBA for the past 11 seasons, and also served as a Lakers assistant for two. Ham spent nine years working with Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer during stints with the Atlanta Hawks and the Bucks, which included winning the 2021 NBA Championship.
“Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do,” Pelinka said in a statement. “When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach.”
Ham is expected to be formally introduced during a press conference on Monday.
