Lakers' Darvin Ham: I Understand the Gravity of Coaching LeBron, Kobe, Giannis

Los Angeles Laker head coach Darvin Ham understands what is needed to coach generational talents.

When asked about serving as the head coach of LeBron James following the latter's comments praising Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue, Ham spoke of his experience coaching players like Kobe Bryant and Giannis Antetokounmpo and how that will help him with James.

Ham said, per Sam Amick of The Athletic:

"I know the situation. I've been here before. I started here. So I understand the gravity of being with Kobe (Bryant), with (Milwaukee's) Giannis (Antetokounmpo, whom he coached as an assistant from 2018 to 2022) and now with (LeBron), of what you're fighting for. And I'm the same (as them). I've won two championships (one as a player with the Pistons in 2004, and the other with the Bucks as an assistant in 2021). That's the most addictive drug ever, you know what I'm saying? So you've got a situation where I want to get back to that. But we can't skip steps, and there's certain s--t that we're gonna have to go through."

The Lakers earned a key 106-103 victory Sunday over the Clippers, which came at the right time for Ham. The Lakers had lost 10 of 13 games after winning the inaugural In-Season Tournament and questions were arising about Ham's job security. The win came over a Clippers team on an opposite trajectory as it had been victorious in 14 of the last 16 games.

Still, the Lakers are not in an ideal position at the moment. The team has an 18-19 record and sits in 10th place in the Western Conference. While there is plenty of season remaining to turn it around, it's still a tough position for a team that reached the conference finals a season ago to be in.

And with James' status as a player close to retirement and seeking contention now, the Lakers will need to try to get things back on track quickly.