Lakers Firing Coach Darvin Ham Led to NBA Fans Posting Endless Memes

The Los Angeles Lakers were bounced from the opening round of the 2024 NBA playoffs Monday night, and reflections on a disappointing season have already begun. After suffering a 4–1 gentleman's sweep against the Denver Nuggets, coach Darvin Ham appeared to criticize an unnamed starter.

In an article published Tuesday, ESPN's Dave McMenamin quoted Ham discussing the difficulties of of the 2023-24 season. He did not hold back discussing the shortcomings of an unnamed player on his roster.

"It's been extremely challenging. Everyone that's been in and out of the lineup," Ham said to McMenamin. "Being criticized for not having a consistent rotation when I don't have consistent healthy bodies. The thing that frustrates me, and I love this job, I love the pressure that comes with it, I've always been calm in the midst of chaos ... [But] common sense tends to go out the window when you talk about my job in particular."

Ham continued, "It's amazing how people just skip that core part of having a consistency with your lineup is all predicated on health and performance. If you're coaching a team and one of your starters is like 10 games in a row, just s---ting the bed, what are you going to do?"

It's not clear if Ham is talking about one of his players or throwing out a hypothetical, but it's pretty easy to assume it's the former. The question is which starter could he be referring to? There are really three options.

Ham benched Austin Reaves for a long stretch after the guard began the season slowly. While Reaves played in all 82 regular-season games, he only started 57 of them. Ham also sent Taurean Prince to the bench for a long stretch after he opened the season as a starter. The third option would be D'Angelo Russell, who had his characteristic up-and-down season with some tremendous highs and depressing lows.

Ham appears to be opening up like a guy who knows his time is limited. The Lakers don't have time to wait around for their coach to figure it out. LeBron James is nearing the end of his incredible career, Anthony Davis isn't getting any younger and the team spent money to put pieces in place around them last offseason.

The season was a roller coaster from the start. The Lakers finished 47–35, besting their record from Ham's first season in charge (43–39), and they won the inaugural NBA in-season tournament. But after reaching the Western Conference finals in 2023, they bowed out quickly in 2024. There doesn't seem to have been much improvement across the board. Whether that's on Ham or not is left for owner Jeanie Buss to decide.

It will be fascinating to see how things shake out in Los Angeles, but Ham isn't going down without having his say.

The Los Angeles Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham on Friday. The decision comes three days after the franchise was eliminated in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs by the defending champion Denver Nuggets.

While it is no great shame to lose to Nikola Jokić and a very good Nuggets team, Ham was on the hot seat all season long due to some questionable coaching decisions, especially in regards to the starting lineup. Paired with the sky-high expectations that come with coaching a LeBron James-led outfit, the change is not entirely shocking.

The Lakers will now begin the search for the 29th head coach in franchise history. Before looking ahead, however, it is important to look back and contextualize Ham's tenure at the helm. How does he stack up to his counterparts throughout franchise history?

Lakers' Coaching History

With his dismissal on Friday, Ham will officially finish his Lakers career boasting a regular season record of 90–74. His 90 wins put him 14th all-time in franchise history, more than Mike D'Antoni but fewer than Joe Mullaney. The all-time leader in Lakers history is— you guessed it— Phil Jackson, who recorded 610 victories in his dominant years with the franchise.

Ham's 164 games coached from the bench puts him in a five-way tie for 10th in Lakers franchise history. The other coaches with 164 games exactly under their belt are the aforementioned Mullaney, Butch van Breda Kolff, Mike Dunleavy Sr., and Byron Scott. For fans of HBO's Winning Time, Paul Westhead is next on the list with 161 games coached. The all-time leader for the organization in this category is, once again, Jackson with 902 games coached.

In terms of winning percentage, Ham will finish his time in Los Angeles clocking in at .549. That ranks 19th all-time in Lakers history, ahead of Randy Pfund (.452) and behind Rudy Tomjanovich (.558). Technically speaking, the franchise leader in winning percentage is Bernie Bickerstaff, who went 4–1 back in 2013 and thus owns an even .800 winning percentage. However, among coaches with more than 10 games coached, Pat Riley leads with .733.

Ham's playoff record is not quite as flattering in the light of the giants who came before him, although he did avoid the ignominy of becoming the 11th coach in Lakers history to not coach a single playoff game. His 21 postseason appearances are good for 12th all-time, but his 9–12 record (a winning percentage of .429) slots him 13th. Jackson leads all Lakers coaches with 118 playoff wins but Riley won at a better clip, posting a winning percentage of .685 during his tenure.

As the numbers suggest, Ham had a fine run as head coach of the Lakers. It was not drenched in glory but it also wasn't drenched in failure. A decidedly average tenure, and one that came to an end on Friday.