Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Lakers fire HC Darvin Ham after disappointing season

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 5/3/24

Darvin Ham coached the Los Angeles Lakers to the first-ever in-season tournament title in league history, but the team's shortcomings in the NBA playoffs cost him his job.

According to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers informed Ham on Friday that they were firing him after two years on the team's bench.

BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers dismissed coach Darvin Ham, sources tell ESPN. In two seasons, Ham was 90-74 with a Western Conference Finals berth, two Play-In victories and an In-Season title. Lakers lost in five games to Denver in opening-round. pic.twitter.com/33ck0Hgyu4
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 3, 2024

Ham led the Lakers to a 90-74 record in his two years as head coach and a trip to the Western Conference Finals in his first year.

But the 2023-24 season ended up being a huge disappointment, especially because the team's top two stars — LeBron James and Anthony Davis — were healthier and played more games together than they had in years.

Despite having both of them in the lineup for the bulk of the season, the Lakers still needed to win two play-in games just to become the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.

It was in that spot that they had to face the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of last year's Western Conference Final and were beaten in just five games. It was an ugly series for the Lakers, as they blew double-digit leads in all four losses, including a crushing Game 2 loss in which they let a 20-point second-half lead slip away.

The lack of results made it clear that a change could be on the horizon, but LeBron's visibly angered response to Ham's not challenging a call was the nail in the coffin.

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