“He Didn’t Have To Say What He Said”: Darvin Ham’s ‘Controversial’ Comments On Lakers’ Shortcomings Bring About Interesting Take From NBA Legend

Abhishek Dhariwal | 09/01/2024
"He Didn't Have To Say What He Said": Darvin Ham's 'Controversial' Comments On Lakers' Shortcomings Bring About Interesting Take From NBA Legend

The Los Angeles Lakers recently broke their four-game losing streak with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Prior to that game, tensions were high in the locker room with a certain level of animosity building between the players and the Lakers head coach, Darvin Ham. Ham’s recent comments on the Lakers’ struggle led to him facing some serious backlashes.

Even Los Angeles Lakers legend, Eddie Johnson went ahead to chime in on Ham’s controversial statement after the Lakers lost their fourth game to the Memphis Grizzlies. 

The Grizzlies game was the Lakers’ fourth straight loss. After the game, head coach Ham sat down with the media and talked about the recent struggles of the team and whether it stemmed from their performances from the last 13 games.

While talking to the media, Ham said, “It is what it is. This is the NBA man. This is a marathon and you just have to look at the totality of the picture. I’m tired of the people living and dying with every single game we play. It’s ludicrous.”

Ham’s comments did more harm than good as Laker fanatics went on to berate him on various social media platforms. Former Lakers guard Eddie Johnson gave his thoughts while making an appearance on SiriusXM NBA radio.

“Obviously, he didn’t have to say what he said. I kinda get his frustration and what he was trying to say. And I think what he was trying to say is like, this is a marathon. We talk about it all the time on the show. It’s a marathon, it’s 82 games. Last year we saw two teams struggle and get to the Conference Finals(Lakers) and one of them got to the Finals(Miami Heat).”

 

Johnson came to Darvin Ham’s aid pointing out that the Lakers did struggle earlier in the season but made it to the Conference Finals in the end. He even interpreted Ham’s statement by saying, “Just be patient, I think that’s what he’s saying.”

Laker Nation urging to fire Darvin Ham

After the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Grizzlies, things did get tense in the locker room. After the game, Darvin Ham and Anthony Davis both had a few words with the media. However, Davis’ words went on to contradict everything his head coach said in the post-game press conference.

 

If that wasn’t enough of an indication then Lakers’ rookie Maxwell Lewis liking a post on Instagram on the team’s disconnected locker room should speak volumes. 

Many unofficial pages with NBA highlights too have been emphasizing on even the most minute arguments or disagreements that have been happening within the Lakers on the floor. And now, fans are urging the Lakers front office to fire Darvin Ham.

There has been quite a buzz among Laker Nation to hire Phil Handy as the Lakers’ next head coach. Now whether that will happen or not is anyone’s guess. Let’s just wait and see if Darvin Ham amps things up from his end meanwhile.

Post Edited By: Pritam Priyedarshi
Anthony Davis Darvin Ham Eddie Johnson

About the author

Avatar photo

Abhishek Dhariwal

A fan of Basketball since the late 2000s, Abhishek Dhaiwal has been covering the game for over five years. Having done his masters in Journalism and Mass Communication, Abhishek is an NBA sports journalist at The SportsRush. A fan of the San Antonio Spurs since the Tim Duncan era, Abhishek has an extensive knowledge of the sport and has covered more than 1500 articles. Having a firsthand experience of the sport, Abhishek has represented his city and state at a District and National level. And it is the same level of expertise he aims to bring while covering extensive topics both on and off the court of your favorite basketball stars.

Don’t miss these