"You have to talk to LeBron's ego" - Ex-Warriors star makes blunt remark after Darvin Ham's latest revelation on fallout with Lakers

Ex-LA Lakers coach-turned-Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham questioned his former team's judgment after securing his second straight NBA Cup title on Tuesday. However, according to three-time All-Star Gilbert Arenas, Ham had little chance of being the long-term leader of a LeBron James-led squad.

Ham spent two seasons as LA's coach from 2022 to 2024, making back-to-back playoff appearances. He unexpectedly guided the Lakers to the Western Conference finals as a seventh seed (43-39) during the 2022-23 campaign. His team followed that up by winning the inaugural NBA Cup last season before suffering a first-round postseason exit.

Despite Ham's respectable 90-74 regular-season coaching record, he was fired in May amid ongoing criticisms about his rotations and lack of in-game adjustments. Milwaukee hired him as its lead assistant a month later, allowing him to defend his in-season tournament crown.

The Bucks comfortably defeated the OKC Thunder 97-81 in Tuesday's NBA Cup final. Afterward, Ham told Andscape's Marc J. Spears that LA's decision to fire him was unjustified.

"To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I'm probably looking at an extension with what I did," Ham said. "I'm not talking about feelings. I'm talking actual facts.

"They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals. And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries, and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs."

On Wednesday's episode of "Gil's Arena," Arenas weighed in on Darvin Ham's comments. The former Golden State Warrior noted that Ham wasn't a good coaching fit for James, citing their differing intelligence levels.

"Your star player's probably smarter than you," Arenas said. "And the fact that your star player is smarter than you, that's a hard job to have. You literally have to talk to LeBron's ego. ... For him to accept you, it's like talking to some genius. ... You have to outsmart him."

Arenas added that the four-time MVP likely tuned Ham out due to his inability to match his basketball IQ.

"LeBron's basketball IQ is so high, if you don't speak the same lingo as him, he's not listening to you," Arenas said.

---

---

Gilbert Arenas compares Darvin Ham coaching LeBron James to a teacher being outsmarted by a student

During his discussion about Darvin Ham's tenure coaching LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas likened Ham to a high school teacher getting outsmarted by a prodigy student.

"Like a teacher, right? You're a teacher for a reason. You weren't that smart to be anything but a teacher," Arenas said (Timestamp: 15:20). "Then you will have this 14 or 15-year-old who's actually smarter than you. ... and that scares you as a teacher.

"And him challenging you on these principles of what you've been taught your whole life makes you say, 'Ah, this kid, I don't want him in my class anymore,' because you can't deal with his IQ is just higher."

Nevertheless, Arenas and Co. acknowledged that Ham fared better than many of LA's other coaches post-Phil Jackson and will likely receive another lead coaching opportunity.

---

​