Watch: Birthday boy and Lakers coach Darvin Ham showcases insane athleticism from his prime with the Bucks
LA Lakers head coach Darvin Ham was born on 23 July 1973 and just turned 50 years old.
Ham had a successful run with the Lakers as he was able to gain the buy-in from LeBron James, Anthony Davids, and the rest of the crew. One of the reasons why the players respect Ham is because he was a champion himself in 2004 and even led the Bucks to a championship as an assistant coach.
Back in the day, Darvin Ham was a very athletic player. To celebrate his birthday, Ballislife put together an eye-catching highlight reel:
HBD high-flying Lakers Coach Darvin Ham!
He won a championship as a player in 2004 & as a coach with the Bucks
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As you can see, Darvin Ham had elite skills and athleticism in his game with the Bucks.
Darvin Ham defeated the Lakers to win the 2004 NBA Finals
While Darvin Ham might be the LA Lakers coach now, in 2004 Ham and the Detroit Pistons defeated the Lakers to win the title.
The Pistons' main strength was their defense, which is also an area that Ham excels at as a coach. During the 2003-2004 season, Detroit held opponents to a mere 83.5 points per game.
During a press conference in May, Darvin Ham recalled his time with the Pistons and what helped them succeed:
“I just think the relentlessness, man, brings a smile to my face, makes me feel fuzzy and warm. Just the relentlessness, man. I happened to be a part, as a player, of one of the all-time greatest defenses that the NBA has ever seen in the ’03-04 Pistons, holding people to under 70 points for an entire game.
“Just being around Ben, ‘Sheed (Wallace), Chauncey, Rip (Hamilton), Tayshaun (Prince), Mike James, Lindsey Hunter, all these guys. Elden Campbell, Corliss (Williamson), Mehmet (Okur) — all those guys were totally focused on that end of the floor. It really wasn’t pretty most nights, but we figured out a way."
Ben Wallace was indeed the best defender on the Pistons. During their 2003-2004 season, Wallace was named first-team All-Defense. He also finished as the runner-up to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Ham continued to talk about the Pistons' defense and how it has influenced him as a coach:
"And a lot of it was due to our getting stops, and it comes from (his assistant coaching days in) Atlanta, Milwaukee, the type of system we had under coach Bud (Mike Budenholzer), was the same type of deal.
"So that’s one of the first things I wanted to check the box off of (as Lakers coach) — competitiveness, us being together, and us being accountable. And it all starts on the defensive (end). That gives you a chance each and every night.”
It is no doubt that Darvin Ham is a special coach who has managed to turn around the fate of Los Angeles. It remains to be seen whether he will go on to win with the Lakers, but all things point in that direction.