“This is the team and franchise that gave me my start.… This place will always be special to me” - Darvin Ham says returning to the LA Lakers is like a homecoming for him

The LA Lakers have officially hired Darvin Ham. [Image Credit: Getty Images]

After another disappointing season, the LA Lakers fired Frank Vogel. The Lakers won only 33 games, missing the play-in. A season earlier, they were knocked out in the first round by the Phoenix Suns.

In his three years with the LA Lakers, Vogel had 127 wins, but his winning percentage was just 56.4 percent. This was really bad considering that the team had LeBron James, Anthony Davis and other great players.

Darvin Ham has replaced Vogel, and he is happy to be back in Los Angeles. There is a long and tough road ahead for the rookie head coach, but he could make the Lakers successful once again.

Darvin Ham is excited to be back

While this will be the first head coaching job for Ham, he has a lot of experience, both as a player and as a coach. As a matter of fact, his NBA coaching career started with the LA Lakers. Ham said:

"This is the team and the franchise that gave me my start. ... The fact that I got my start as a coach here, this place will always be special to me. Always was special to me.

"I've always paid attention to what was going on with the Lakers, even in my other travels through Atlanta and Milwaukee. It's like a homecoming for me in all seriousness."

Darvin Ham was an assistant head coach for the Lakers from 2011 to 2013. He worked under Mike Brown and was close to Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and other players on the Lakers at the time.

"This place will always be special to me. ... It's like a homecoming for me in all seriousness." Darvin Ham on returning to the #LakeShow. https://t.co/PT1RjHGPOy

After his tenure with the Lakers, Ham spent a couple of years with the Atlanta Hawks before joining the Milwaukee Bucks. He won a championship ring with the Bucks last year, and Lakers fans are hoping he will bring another championship to the city.

Ham has a lot of experience

Darvin Ham started his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets back in 1996. He also played for the Hawks and the Bucks, among other teams. Ham's playing career also included playing time in the NBA's development league, as well as Spain and the Philippines.

Ham won his first championship ring as a player back in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons. While he was far from being a superstar, Darvin Ham appeared in all but one postseason game, averaging 4.9 minutes per game.

Darvin Ham on Russ, with Russ watching. https://t.co/Y6iYykvecp

The new Lakers head coach knows what it takes to win it all. The core of the roster also knows it, as they won a championship in 2020. If the Lakers add a few more valuable players to their team, they could be a serious contender next season.