One of the more curious stats from the NBA Cup is Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham’s success in the tournament.
After winning the inaugural championship last season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Ham is now 14-0 in NBA Cup games. And, after Milwaukee topped the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night in a dominant performance, Ham reflected on the circumstances surrounding the end of his tenure with the Lakers, who fired him in May after two seasons.
“To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham said Tuesday night in an interview with Andscape. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts. They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals. And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs.
“People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver. We beat a kick-ass young squad in Memphis and we beat Golden State.”
Ham added that he was “disappointed” in the team’s decision to fire him and that it was “crazy” he didn’t get more time to develop in the role.
In a May 3 statement that announced Ham’s dismissal, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said it was “a difficult decision to make” but that it was “the best course of action following a full…
