Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham still remembers the one game he played for the Indiana Pacers

Ham was traded to the Pacers in 1997

Feb 2, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham in the second half / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — Most know him now as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, but before becoming a coach, Darvin Ham was an NBA player.

He had an eight-year career that took him to six different franchises, including a multi-year stint with the Detroit Pistons that resulted in Ham winning a title in 2004. Across 417 pro appearances, Ham averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. After going undrafted in 1996, he found a way to carve out a quality career before getting into coaching in 2008.

His playing days began with the Denver Nuggets, who inked the forward to a contract before the 1996-97 season. But after 36 games with the franchise, Ham was traded. The Nuggets made two different deals with the Indiana Pacers at the 1997 trade deadline, and Ham was a part of one of them.

He and Mark Jackson were sent to Indiana on what was a busy deadline day. But Ham's time with the Pacers was short and sweet. He played in just one game for the franchise — a battle with the Raptors in Toronto — before not playing for the rest of the campaign. Ham was a free agent in the offseason, and he ended up signing on with the Washington Wizards.

So despite being traded to the Circle City with over 30 games left in a season, Ham has the unique distinction of only having played in one game for the Pacers. He scored three points and had one steal that night for the blue and gold in Toronto.

Ham, who was in Indianapolis to coach his Lakers against the Pacers earlier this weekend, actually remembers that game and his time with the franchise well. "It was short lived," he joked. "I had knee surgery here though."

That knee surgery is why the now-coach only played in one game. It held him out for multiple weeks, and he wasn't able to play from February 13 (when he was still with the Nuggets) until April 12, 1997. That night, he made his Pacers debut.

His recall of the game was impressive. "I think it was a game in Toronto I want to say," Ham said, correctly. Indiana won the duel 100-89. "But it was fun. I still have some long-term friendships from this team. I think it was like the last third of the season... didn't really get a chance to participate much on the court."

The Pacers went 15-16 after trading for Ham (and Jackson), and they missed the playoffs after finishing 39-43. It was the only season Indiana missed the postseason from 1990 through 2006. Ham was unfortunately a part of it.

But he still remembers it fondly. He mentioned that he still has some friends from that team and mentioned head coach Larry Brown — who he later went on the play for in Detroit — as well as players like Reggie Miller, Dale Davis, Jalen Rose, and Antonio Davis as guys he still talks to now.

"Some fun memories, even though I didn't participate actively," Ham said of his time with the Pacers.

He's now in his second year as the Lakers head coach after 11 NBA seasons as an assistant. Los Angeles is 84-72 with Ham at the helm and reached the Western Conference Finals in his first season.

After looking back on his time with Indiana as a player, Ham's Lakers fell 109-90 to the Pacers in Indianapolis. That memory will likely not be as fond for the 50-year old, though the Lakers did beat the Pacers two other times this season — including the In-Season Tournament Finals.

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