The Los Angeles Lakers have appointed former assistant Darvin Ham as their new head coach on a “multi-year deal”, replacing the sacked Frank Vokel.
Ham, 48, was on the Lakers’ coaching staff between 2011 and 2013 and joins from the Milwaukee Bucks, where he was also assistant coach.
The Bucks were NBA champions last year, beating the Phoenix Suns in the Finals.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka pointed to Ham’s “strength of character” upon his appointment.
Ham enjoyed an eight-year career as a player and won the 2004 NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons.
Apart from a spell as boss of the minor league New Mexico Thunderbirds in 2010-11, he has largely worked as an assistant and now takes the biggest job of his career.
Having led the Lakers to the NBA championship in 2020, Vogel was dismissed in April after a poor campaign that saw them miss out on the play-offs.
Pelinka said: “Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do.
“When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history.”
The Lakers’ star player LeBron James, 37, said he was “ready to get started”.
