Darvin Ham started out as an assistant with the Lakers under Mike Brown, before moving on to the Hawks and then the Bucks. He then returned to L.A., only this time as the head coach, for two seasons. Now he’s back in Milwaukee as the Doc Rivers’ top assistant. The point is, he has had the opportunity to work with some of the greats of the game.
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He coached the likes of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. That experience has given him better insight than most into what separates the true greats from everyone else.
Ham appeared on the most recent episode of the Hoop Genius podcast, and shared the personality trait that all the legends share which makes them stand out for long periods of time.
“The common denominator in all of those guys, they’ve embraced the responsibility to be great through their work ethic, through their film study, through understanding the details of the game,” Ham said, before name-dropping Kobe, LeBron and his former Pistons teammate Ben Wallace as players who have embraced that mindset.
Ham understands that basketball is a team game. As incredible as one player can be, it takes a team to win, and these guys understood that. “Being an individual great player comes with a lot of responsibility,” he said. “Those great players that go on to put banners up, to have those rings, they understand that they need help.”
Go up and down the list of all-timers Ham has coached, and it’s been true in all cases. Kobe needed Shaq and later Gasol to win. LeBron needed Wade and Bosh, Kyrie Irving, and AD in L.A. Giannis didn’t do it alone in 2021. He had help from Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and others.
Even the greatest of them all, Michael Jordan, had to trust in his teammates before he ever reached the mountaintop. “[Jordan] will tell you himself,” Ham said, “He was very good, but he only got great when his team got great.”
Ham cited the time Jordan told Steve Kerr in the huddle to be ready because he would find him if he got double-teamed again, then Kerr won the game and helped propel the Bulls to another title. John Paxson also came up clutch when Jordan learned to trust him, as of course did Scottie Pippen and the rest of that dynasty.
There’s a certain amount of ego that any player has to have to become great, but the ones who ascend to an even higher level are able to put that ego aside and realize that as good as they are, nobody wins alone. We’ve seen it over and over throughout the years.
Magic had the rest of the Showtime Lakers. Bird was surrounded by Hall-of-Famers in Boston. Tim Duncan had Parker and Manu. Even last year, SGA was the star, but Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and the rest of the Thunder had enormous roles in bringing home the title.
It’s way too early to know who’s going to win it all this year, but one thing is for sure. It won’t be one player, it will be a team effort.
