Peculiar Stat Shows Former Lakers Coach Darvin Ham Stands Alone in NBA Cup History

Darvin Ham has dominated the NBA Cup.

Now-Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham when he was the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach. / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Nobody is better than Darvin Ham in the NBA Cup.

Ham, now a top assistant coach on Doc Rivers's Milwaukee Bucks staff, won the NBA's inaugural In-Season Tournament in 2023 as the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach. Ham's Lakers cruised through group play as an undefeated 4-0, then won three straight in the knockout stage to take home the NBA's first In-Season Tournament title.

This year, the In-Season Tournament rebranded as the Emirates NBA Cup. The Bucks ran through East Group B, defeating the Detroit Pistons in their final game of the group stage to advance to 4-0 and onto the knockout round. Milwaukee defeated the Orlando Magic in the quarterfinals Tuesday to move on to Las Vegas as one of the tournament's last four teams standing.

With a 114-109 win over the Magic, Ham has yet to lose an NBA Cup game as a coach. He owns a perfect 12–0 record—a feat no other coach can tout after Ham joined the Bucks' staff following his dismissal from the Lakers after two seasons as head coach.

Darvin Ham is the only coach who has never lost an NBA Cup game 👏 pic.twitter.com/NGcAA8WF2E

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 11, 2024

Certainly a niche accomplishment, but 12 competitive games is large enough of a sample to recognize. The Bucks are the first team to advance to the 2024 NBA Cup semifinals. Now off to Las Vegas, they will play the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks quarterfinals matchup.

Milwaukee needs to win two more games to keep Ham's odd streak alive for another season. But after the fallout with the Lakers, Ham still gets up for the NBA Cup.

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