Lakers fire coach Darvin Ham, making him scapegoat for postseason loss

The Los Angeles Lakers have fired their head coach, Darvin Ham, the team announced on Friday. According to ESPN, his entire coaching crew was dismissed as well.

"We greatly appreciate Darvin Ham'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," the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.

"We all want to thank Darvin for this 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. The organization will remain unwavering in its commitment to deliver championship-caliber basketball to Lakers fans around the world," Pelinka added.

The decision to part ways with Ham came two years after he was hired and four days after the purple and gold were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the Western Conference first-round playoffs. Moreover, the Lakers were swept by the Nuggets in the West Finals last season. They lost 12 of their past 13 meetings, in both the regular season and the playoffs, to the same opponents.

"Sitting in this seat, it's been a hell of a two years," Ham told reporters on Monday after the team was knocked out of the postseason. "A lot of good things that got done, but ultimately, you want to win that ultimate prize."

The Lakers were 90-74 in the regular season and 9-12 in the playoffs under Ham in the past two campaigns. He led the team to the playoffs via the play-in tournament in both seasons and to victory in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament in December 2023.

Many would find it unfair to blame Ham alone for the Lakers' failure to go further in the playoffs. The team's reliance on 39-year-old LeBron James and injury-prone Anthony Davis on both ends of the game meant they weren't able to maintain the same good form in every of the 82 games during the regular season. Besides, the team saw two key players – defender Jarred Vanderbilt and new signing Gabe Vincent – suffer injuries.

Despite the difficulties Ham faced, he still made various plans for the Lakers to lead longer than the Nuggets in the first-round series this season. The Nuggets, as the reigning NBA champions, have a very dominant starting lineup of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. It was no shame to lose to a team like this by 11 points in total in five games.