Los Angeles Lakers Have Officially Fired Head Coach Darvin Ham

The Los Angeles Lakers are firing head coach Darvin Ham. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowksi was first to report the news, which was shortly after confirmed by The Athletic's Shams Charania and others.

The Lakers went 90-74 in Ham's two seasons at the helm, even reaching a Western Conference Finals appearance. However, the Lakers were ousted by the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of this year's playoffs, bringing an end to Ham's tumultuous tenure in Los Angeles. With the firing, Ham is the first Lakers coach to make the playoffs and not return the following season since Phil Jackson in 2011.

Ham was hired by the Lakers in May 2022 to be their 28th head coach in franchise history. He replaced Frank Vogel, who won a title with the Lakers in 2020 but was fired following a 2021-22 season in which the Lakers missed the playoffs.

Ham came over from Milwaukee, where he was an assistant under Mike Budenholzer. There, he helped Milwaukee win the 2021 NBA Finals over the Phoenix Suns in six games.

Ham's tenure got off to an immediate rocky start. His Lakers struggled out the gates, getting off to a 2-10 start in the 2022-23 season. They remained under .500 until March, well after the trade deadline in which the team reshaped the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Russell Westbrook was the key player sent out, but the Lakers also brought in an entire new arsenal of players alongside their stars, including former Lakers' No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura.

With the new squad, Ham and the Lakers were able to go on a late-season run, even winning the first game of the Play-In Tournament against the Minnesota Timberwolves to clinch the West's No. 7 seed. The Lakers would then beat the No. 2 seeded Memphis Grizzlies and the No. 6 seeded Golden State Warriors, before getting swept by Denver in the WCF. Nonetheless, it was an impressive turnaround from their slow start to the year.

In 2023-24, the Lakers got off to a decent start, but especially thrived in the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament. The Lakers ended up winning the tournament, giving Laker fans tons of hope about the team's potential to succeed in the league's postseason later in the year.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The Lakers collapsed after the In-Season Tournament, going from 14-9 to 19-21. They were able to finish out the season strong, and again, win the first round of the Play-In Tournament to clinch the No. 7 seed and a rematch with Denver.

While the Lakers played Denver well, even leading for over 150 minutes of the series, in the end, they lost in five games. There were reports that Ham would be fired if the Lakers lost Game 5, and on Friday, the news became official.

In a press release, the Lakers said: "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," said Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka. "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 had two more years on his contract, so the Lakers will be on the hook for roughly $10 million. More importantly, they'll have to find the right man to lead the team with superstar Anthony Davis and potentially LeBron James.

James has a player option this season, and has made it clear that he doesn't yet know what he'll do this offseason. James said he's considering everything — including retirement — and will make it known when a decision has been made.

It will be interesting to see how much the Lakers involve James in this process. It's been reported they want James back no matter what, so if that's the case, they should ensure they hire someone that he approves of. Charania reported four names the Lakers are expected to consider, including Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and Ty Lue, if he becomes available.