Darvin Ham had a tumultuous start to his head coaching career as he and the Los Angeles Lakers began the 2022-23 season 2-10. The Lakers appeared dead in the water almost from the jump, with fans panicking that they would miss the postseason for a second consecutive season.
However, despite the horrible stretch, Ham and Los Angeles began to find their way and really hit their stride after the trade deadline. With new pieces and depth, Ham was able to lead the Lakers to the Play-In Tournament and eventually all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
While the Xs and Os and improved rotation fueled their way through the postseason, Austin Reaves also made sure to praise his coach’s positivity early in the year. “We were just talking upstairs and really just had to appreciate his mentality, his outlook on life actually. Not even just basketball. When we started 2-10, obviously, there were dark days. You never want to start like that, you want to win every game,” Reaves said in his exit interview.
“But I remember we were in film and he was talking about the sun’s gonna come up tomorrow. Win, lose, draw, etc., the sun’s gonna come up and we’re going to have another day to fight to get better. And just that energy and positive mentality to improve every day kind of just, it was like a trickle-down effect. It helped people not really dwell and the bad that was going on then. It was amazing for him to make it to the Western Conference Finals in Year 1. Just shows the testament to the work that he puts in and just what he believes as a basketball coach.”
Fans have had their gripes with Ham over some of his basketball management tendencies, but no one can deny his attitude and spirit. Players have had nothing but good things to say about Ham and his approach to the game and life seems to have won over people like Reaves.
That optimism and positive attitude extends past this current season as Ham has already declared that the Lakers are going to be a problem to deal with next season. If they play like they did this past postseason, then the rest of the league should be on notice.
Reaves to run move offense for Lakers in 2023-24
Reaves and Ham will continue their partnership in the long-term as the restricted free agent re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $56 million contract.
It’s a great deal for L.A. as Reaves was not able to find a bigger offer sheet elsewhere that the Lakers would be forced to match. Now that the guard is back, the expectation is that Ham will give him the keys to run more offense in 2023-24.
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