Darvin Ham

Darvin Demonte Ham Sr.(born July 23, 1973) is an American professionalbasketballcoach and former player who is the top assistant coach for theMilwaukee Bucksof theNational Basketball Association(NBA). He previously served as the head coach of theLos Angeles Lakersof theNBA. He playedcollege basketballfor theTexas Tech Red Raidersbefore playing nine seasons in the NBA from 1996 to 2005.  He won anNBA championshipplaying with theDetroit Pistonsin 2004. Ham also had a brief international experience inSpainand later in thePhilippines, as well as in theNBA Development Leaguein 2007 and 2008. As an assistant coach, he won a second championship in2021with theMilwaukee Bucks.
After attending Saginaw High School Ham went to Texas Tech University in 1993. While playing for theRed Raiders, he gained national attention byshattering the backboardon aslam dunkduring the1996 NCAA TournamentagainstNorth Carolina. The dunk shifted momentum for Texas Tech, catapulting them to the firstSweet Sixteenin school history. The dunk was featured on the cover ofSports Illustrated.
Ham won the NCAA slam dunk contest in 1996, following former college teammate Lance Hughes' win in 1995. In his 90-game college career, he averaged 8.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 22.9 minutes, on top of .597 FG and .498 FT shooting.
Ham was signed by theDenver Nuggetsas a free agent on October 1, 1996. He was then traded by Denverto theIndiana PacersforJerome Allenin February 1997. Ham then signed as free agent with theWashington Wizards(1997),Milwaukee Bucks(1999),Atlanta Hawks(2002) andDetroit Pistons(2003). In his eight-season 417-game NBA career, he averaged 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 fouls in 12.4 minutes, on top of .518 FG shooting, though he was not an outside threat, making only 4 3-point field goals in his career.
Ham competed in the 1997 NBASlam Dunk Contest, and was a member of the2004 NBA championDetroit Pistons. His powerful slams earned him the nicknames "Dunkin Darvin" and "Ham Slamwich", as a fan favorite when playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, that carried on into the rest of his career. In his firstpostseasonin Milwaukee, Ham started all five games of the Bucks’ 3-2 first round loss to the eventual Eastern Conference championIndiana Pacers, while averaging 5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.During his time in Milwaukee, Ham became the namesake of the "Hammer play", now a widespread NBA offensive concept.
In 2005, Ham was a participant in the Basketball Without Borders program that was located in Johannesburg, South Africaand later in 2015 he participated in the Dominican Republic.
On January 17, 2006, Ham was enlisted by thePhilippine Basketball AssociationteamTalk 'N Text Phone Palsas its replacement import forDamian Cantrell.He only played three games, averaging 16.7 points in the2006 PBA Fiesta Conference Playoffs, as the Phone Pals eventually lost toAir21 Expressin the series, 2–3.
In 2006, Ham served as a studio analyst forFox Sports Southwest's coverage of theDallas Mavericks' playoff run. He then became a member of theOrlando Magicsummer league team in the Pepsi Pro Summer League from July 10–14, 2006. Ham later on appeared in the 2006 preseason with theNew Jersey Nets.
In 2007, Ham had a preseason stint with the Mavericks but was waived on October 24, 2007.He was then drafted third overall in the 2007NBA D-Leaguedraft by theAlbuquerque Thunderbirds.On April 4, 2008, the Thunderbirds traded Ham to theAustin Toros.
In October 2008, Ham was named an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds.He later served as their head coach. In October 2011, he became an assistant coach onMike Brown's staff with theLos Angeles Lakers, where he worked withKobe Bryant,Pau Gasol, andDwight Howardin a player development role.
In 2013, he joined theAtlanta Hawks' coaching staff.He helped the Hawks reach the playoffs in four consecutive seasons including making it to the Eastern Conference finals in 2015. In 2014 and 2015, Ham was part of the coaching staff that led the Atlanta Hawks to a divisional title and the number 1 seed in the 2015 Eastern Conference Playoffs. Along with his help in bringing Atlanta to the playoffs, he also assisted four of their starting five into becoming 2015 NBA All-Stars. He also was heavily involved in the development of young players such asDennis SchroderandTaurean Prince.
On June 7, 2018, Ham followedMike Budenholzerto theMilwaukee Bucks,where during the 2018–2019 season, Budenholzer won the NBA's Coach of the Year award. Ham helped lead the team to its best record since 1972. In2020–21, Ham helped coach Milwaukee to its second NBA title in franchise history, beating thePhoenix Sunsin six games in the2021 NBA Finalsfor their first championship since 1971.
Ham was hired as the head coach of theLos Angeles Lakerson June 3, 2022.In his first season as head coach, Ham and the Lakers started off with a record of 2–10 before qualifying for the2023 NBA playoffsas the 7-seed. From there, they reached the Western Conference finals, becoming the second 7-seed in NBA history to reach the conference finals, before getting swept by the eventual championDenver Nuggets.On December 9, 2023, Ham and the Lakers won theinaugural seasonof theNBA In-Season Tournament. They again qualified for the2024 NBA playoffsas the 7-seed, where they lost in the first round in five games to the Nuggets, as they failed to protect a double-digit lead in all four of their losses in the series, including a 20-point second-half lead in Game 2.Following their playoff exit, Ham was dismissed on May 3, 2024, after two seasons with the Lakers.
On June 10, 2024, Ham returned to the Milwaukee Bucks as their top assistant coach underDoc Rivers.On December 17, Ham won his second consecutiveNBA Cup, as his teams improved to 14–0 in NBA Cup games.
Ham is the son of Wilmer Jones-Ham, the first femalemayorofSaginaw, serving from 2001 to 2005.When Ham was 14 years old, in 1988, he survived a gunshot wound to his face and neck.
Ham is married and his wife also went to Texas Tech.
His son, Darvin Ham Jr., played forNorthwood University, and was an assistant coach at Northwood for 4 years, through the 2021–22 season.As of the 2022–23 season, Ham Jr. is an assistant coach for theCleveland Chargeof theNBA G League.
Ham is aChristian. Ham has said, “First of all, I want to thank God. Coming from where I come from, I was raised in a household with strong, spiritual faith, belief in God and his Son Jesus Christ, so I want to start with that. Everything I’ve been able to overcome in my life, along with the people around me, it's been that spirit that was instilled in me as a youngster.”
In June 2011, Ham traveled toVenezuelaas aSportsUnitedSports Envoy for theU.S. Department of State. In this function, he worked withKayte Christensento conduct basketball clinics for 300 youth from underserved areas and met with Venezuelan sports officials. In so doing, Ham helped contribute to SportsUnited's mission to promote greater international understanding and inclusion through sport.He then followed up on these efforts and conducted a second set of clinics for more than 200 youth inMyanmar. This was the first State Department-sponsored sports exchange with Myanmar.