New Lakers Coach Darvin Ham Once Played For The Magic

The Lakers hired Ham Friday night as their new head coach.

Jeremy Brener | May 28, 2022

New Lakers Coach Darvin Ham Once Played For The Magic /

ORLANDO -- New Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham has two distinct moments in his career that most basketball fans would know him by.

Darvin Ham

Back in college at Texas Tech, Ham led the Red Raiders to the first Sweet 16 in school history and pulled off a backboard-shattering dunk that landed him on the magazine cover of Sports Illustrated in 1996.

Then, in 2004, he was a role player for the NBA champion Detroit Pistons, the first championship of his career.

But not many remember his playing days with the Orlando Magic.

Even though Ham played his final NBA game in 2005, he tried to make a comeback to the league by playing in the Pepsi Pro Summer League with the Magic in 2006. Ham, who was 33 at the time, was brought in to mentor some of the young Magic prospects and give him his veteran knowledge.

Perhaps that experience down in Orlando has led him to where he is today.

After a few years attempting to build a career overseas and in the D-League (now the G-League), Ham became an assistant coach with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds (now the Cleveland Charge). After two years as an assistant, Ham became the head coach for the 2010-11 season.

Then, the NBA came back calling and he was offered an assistant coach position with the Lakers on Mike Brown's staff.

After two years in Los Angeles, Ham departed for Atlanta to become apart of Mike Budenholzer's staff with the Hawks.

Since 2013, Ham has grown into his position with the Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, ultimately winning his second NBA championship in 2021.

Darvin Ham

Jamahl Mosley

Now in LA, Ham will be in pursuit of his third NBA ring, this time as a head coach.

Published May 28, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.