Darvin Ham’s tenure as the Lakers’ head coach was a rollercoaster ride. They made it to the Western Conference Finals in his first season and won the NBA Cup in his second year. However, his deficiencies, especially his inability to build a game plan to beat teams like the Nuggets in the playoffs, eventually led to his dismissal. On paper, he did a decent job. But Lakers fans, like actor O’Shea Jackson, never bought into his coaching philosophy and were frustrated about his penchant to play certain players like Taurean Prince, regardless of their performance.
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The Straight Outta Compton star unpacked his issues on Ham during an appearance on the Big Podcast with Shaq. He listed his grievances against the Lakers’ former head coach and spoke at length about why he was glad to see the back of him. Jackson said,
“I held my tongue for a long time. I’m all for a black man coaching the Lakers because I haven’t seen it. I was born in 1991, I didn’t see that a lot and I’m all for it. But call timeouts please! Rotations! I don’t know what evidence Taurean Prince had on you while he was on the Lakers. But dog, it was times where we were confused as a community.”
Podcast host Adam Lefkoe pointed out that the Lakers are only one game better off than they were at the same point in the season but had won the NBA Cup, suggesting they were better off under Ham. He also reminded him that the former head coach has won the NBA Cup for the second year running, this time, as the Bucks’ assistant coach.
However, Jackson responded he couldn’t care less about Ham’s time in LA or his resurgence in Milwaukee. He added that he wasn’t too pleased about the Lakers’ 16-13 start. However, he claimed he remembers seasons not too long ago when the situation was much worse.
O’Shea Jackson reminds Lakers fans of darker times
When asked if he had a message for the team’s fans who want the franchise to blow up the roster, fire the front office, and want sweeping changes, the actor said they should zoom out, look at the bigger picture, and be patient,
“[Lakers fans,] You’ll be alright. Quit acting like that. You’ve been through way worse. We were begging for Andrew Goudelock to get minutes. I thought Kendall Marshall was the man. Xavier Henry bro, you was about to be a hero. Jordan Hill! All I’m trying to say is, you have been in way worse positions than having LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Don’t get shook by these suckers. Don’t let the media get in your head.”
The Lakers aren’t looking like title contenders, but are in a decent spot in the standings. They are one win away from the fifth spot in the Western Conference standings and are actively seeking trades to improve the roster.
If they can overhaul the team as well as they did at the 2023 trade deadline, perhaps they could embark on another deep run in the playoffs. Regardless, Jackson believes the Lakers are held to an impossible standard. He feels fans should appreciate having two all-time greats, a luxury that most teams in the league have had either once or never.
