LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham on Friday after just two seasons in charge.
The Lakers announced on social media that they were letting go of Ham four days after their season ended with a first-round playoff loss to Denver in five games.
Ham guided Los Angeles to the Western Conference finals less than a year ago in his first season as an NBA head coach. He had replaced Frank Vogel, who was fired by the Lakers exactly 18 months after winning the franchise’s 17th championship in 2020.
Ham had two successful seasons and made two playoff appearances, but that’s not enough with the championship-focused Lakers. With little time left to take advantage of the concurrent presence of Anthony Davis and 39-year-old LeBron James — who hasn’t decided whether to return for his 22nd NBA season — the Lakers are resetting their coaching staff once again instead of blaming general manager Rob Pelinka for his roster construction.
“We greatly appreciate Darvin’s efforts on behalf of the Lakers and recognize the many accomplishments achieved over the past two seasons, including last year’s remarkable run to the Western Conference finals,” Pelinka said in a statement. “We all want to thank Darvin for his dedication and positivity. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season. This organization will remain unwavering in its commitment to deliver championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world.”
Ham oversaw a disappointing year for the Lakers, who went 47-35 in the regular season and won the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. The Lakers then beat New Orleans in a play-in game to move up to the seventh seed in the highly competitive Western Conference — but that meant they had to face Denver, which swept them out of the playoffs last season.
Los Angeles led the defending champion Nuggets for long stretches of their first-round series, but Nikola Jokic and his teammates eventually rolled into the second round with a series of comeback wins.
“Sitting in this seat, it’s been a hell of a two years,” Ham said after the game. “A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize.”
The Lakers’ failure stung because James and Davis were largely healthy all year long, with both superstars playing more games than they had managed in an NBA season since 2017-18 — 76 for Davis and 71 for James, the leading scorer in NBA history. D’Angelo Russell also had a strong regular season, setting the franchise record for 3-pointers.
That health and success only translated into a four-win improvement in the standings from last season, and Ham received much of the blame from fans and observers for his game management, slow tactical adjustments and a reluctance to change his player rotations and starting lineups, even when things weren’t working.
The Lakers fell into a hole they couldn’t escape when they went 3-10 during the holiday period immediately after the In-Season Tournament finale. Ham was widely criticized for his lineups and rotations during that poor stretch — among other decisions, he curiously benched Russell and Austin Reaves while giving extensive playing time to Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish.
The decline ultimately stopped the Lakers from getting a top-6 position in the West, even though they ended the regular season with an impressive 28-14 finish.
The players publicly supported Ham, but signs of frustration were evident. After the Lakers blew a 20-point lead and lost to Denver in Game 2 last month, Davis said the Lakers “have stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor,” a comment widely interpreted as a shot at Ham’s coaching competence.
In the 2022-23 season under Ham, the Lakers only achieved a 43-39 record, but they took advantage of more favorable playoff matchups. After defeating Minnesota in a play-in game, they won playoff series against Memphis and Golden State to reach the conference finals, where they were swept by Denver.
James, Davis, and the Lakers have not been able to win a playoff round in three of their four seasons since winning the 2020 championship in the Florida bubble.
Ham still had two years remaining on his contract with the Lakers. They will be hiring their fourth head coach since James arrived in 2018. The new coach will be the Lakers’ eighth in 14 seasons since Phil Jackson’s departure in 2011.
Ham had an eight-year playing career in the NBA as an athletic forward and won a championship with Detroit in 2004. He started his NBA assistant coaching job with the Lakers in 2011 and was Mike Budenholzer’s assistant in Atlanta and Milwaukee for nine seasons, winning a second championship ring with the Bucks in 2021, before returning to the Lakers as their head coach.
James has a $51.4 million player option for next season, and his decision affects every offseason move for the Lakers, who expect him to return.
Pelinka then must decide if he can make the long-anticipated move for a third superstar through trades, or if he believes the assertions by Rui Hachimura and other role players that the Lakers can become a contender with more continuity.
Russell has an $18.7 million player option after the sharpshooting guard excelled in the regular season and underperformed in the playoffs, notably going scoreless in the Lakers’ Game 3 loss to Denver. After Los Angeles was knocked out of the playoffs on Monday, the point guard said he has “a little leverage. I’ll try to take advantage of it.”
A look at the coaches who have led teams with LeBron James on the roster.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
• Paul Silas (2003-05): He was James’ first coach in the 2003-04 season and helped the first-year player win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. But Silas was let go 64 games into the 2005 season with the Cavaliers at 34-30.
• Brendan Malone (2005): He became interim coach after Silas was dismissed and went 8-10 with the team to miss out on the NBA playoffs.
• Mike Brown (2005-10): He led the Cavaliers to the playoffs in all five seasons with James on the roster, making it to the NBA Finals in their second season together in 2006-07. James was named NBA MVP in his final two seasons with Brown as coach. Brown was let go before James’ pending free agency in the summer of 2010.
MIAMI HEAT
• Erik Spoelstra (2010-14): He led the Heat to the NBA Finals all four seasons coaching James, winning it all in 2012 and 2013. James won NBA MVP in both those seasons.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
• David Blatt (2014-16): Blatt was the coach when James came back to Cleveland and they lost in the NBA Finals to Golden State. Blatt got fired the next season when the team had a 30-11 record. Then-GM David Griffin said at the time: “What I see is that we need to build a collective spirit, a strength of spirit, a collective will.”
• Tyronn Lue (2016-18): Lue was promoted to replace Blatt, and he guided the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA title against the Warriors. Lue and James went to the Finals two more times before James decided to leave as a free agent, ending his second stint with Cleveland.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
• Luke Walton (2018-19): James was hampered by injuries and the Lakers didn't make the playoffs for the first time since the 2004-05 season, finishing at 37-45. Walton and the Lakers mutually agreed to go separate ways after the season.
• Frank Vogel (2019-22): Vogel and James had the Lakers at 49-14 and leading the Western Conference before COVID-19 halted the league. When games resumed, Los Angeles won the NBA championship. The team couldn't replicate its success in Vogel’s final two years, making it to the play-in tournament in 2021 and missing the playoffs in 2022. Vogel was let go after that season.
• Darvin Ham (2022-24): Ham and the Lakers had a slow start in the first of two seasons before rallying to reach the Western Conference finals as a seventh seed in the playoffs. Last season, Los Angeles was eliminated in the first round by defending champion Denver. The team announced Ham’s firing on Friday. “While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season,” GM Rob Pelinka said in a statement.
