Getty Image
There’s plenty of evidence that suggests former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham did not get along with a number of players on the roster, and we’ve gotten some pretty irrefutable evidence courtesy of what Scotty Pippen Jr. had to say after facing off against his ex-skipper’s new squad on Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers hired Darvin Ham to replace Fred Vogel prior to the start of the 2022 season, but he only lasted two seasons before getting kicked to the curb after posting a 90-74 record during a brief tenure where he led the team to the Western Conference Finals in his inaugural campaign.
Ham’s consistent inability to manage games and bullheaded approach to roster adjustments certainly played a role in his dismissal, but there are plenty of reports that assert the team decided to move on because he lost the confidence of players who pushed for a changing of the guard behind the scenes.
It’s pretty clear that was the case based on some of the shade that was thrown his way as the Lakers were gearing up for the start of the season, as D’Angelo Russell wasn’t shy about lobbing criticism his way during media day and Cam Raddish echoed some of the same sentiments (Bronny James even got in on the action despite not playing under him).
Now, we can add another name to that list thanks to Scotty Pippen Jr., who only appeared in six games for the Lakers during the 2022-23 season before being relegated to the G League.
Pippen eventually got a second chance with the Grizzlies while Doc Rivers tapped Ham to serve as an assistant coach for the Bucks this season, and the former was apparently playing with a chip on his shoulder when the two teams faced off on Thursday night.
Memphis walked away with the 122-99 win in a game where Pippen did a fantastic job shutting down Damian Lillard on defense, as the guard was held to just 4 points while going 1-12 from the floor.
Pippen was more than happy to take a victory lap after the game, and while he declined to call Ham out by name, you don’t need to be a genius to figure out who he was talking about when he referenced a former coach who didn’t have faith in him.
Scotty Pippen Jr. was one of the players who guarded Dame the most tonight. He said he “definitely” took that matchup personal. Why?
“One of the coaches over there didn’t believe in me so I definitely wanted to show I can play some defense.”
I’ll let you solve the puzzle. https://t.co/wFg1ugOIXv
— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) November 1, 2024
That had to feel pretty good.