The Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Darvin Ham on Friday after two seasons manning the sidelines, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Lakers will now open a job search in hopes of finding the right person to maximize what figures to be the final chapter of LeBron James' storied career while returning the team to championship contention.
Ham, who had two years remaining on his contract, went 90-74 (.549) during the regular season and 11-12 (.478) in the postseason -- including two play-in tournament wins -- since being hired to replace Frank Vogel in 2022. He also guided the Lakers to the inaugural in-season tournament title in Las Vegas in December.
The decision came just days after the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets for the second straight season, this time in five games in the first round after being swept by Denver in the conference finals a year ago.
Despite James (71 games) and Anthony Davis (76) playing their most combined games since becoming teammates in L.A. in 2018, the Lakers only earned the No. 7 seed in a crowded Western Conference field, setting up the showdown with the No. 2-seeded Nuggets.
The Lakers failed to protect a double-digit lead in all four of their losses in the series, including a 20-point second-half lead in Game 2.
Ham, who had two years remaining on his contract, went 90-74 (.549) during the regular season and 11-12 (.478) in the postseason -- including two play-in tournament wins -- since being hired to replace Frank Vogel in 2022. He also guided the Lakers to the inaugural in-season tournament title in Las Vegas in December.
The decision came just days after the Lakers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets for the second straight season, this time in five games in the first round after being swept by Denver in the conference finals a year ago.
Despite James (71 games) and Anthony Davis (76) playing their most combined games since becoming teammates in L.A. in 2018, the Lakers only earned the No. 7 seed in a crowded Western Conference field, setting up the showdown with the No. 2-seeded Nuggets.
The Lakers failed to protect a double-digit lead in all four of their losses in the series, including a 20-point second-half lead in Game 2.
