(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the worst teams in the league in the first couple of months under Darvin Ham.
The first-year coach hit the drawing board, tested multiple things, and the team straightened the ship throughout the course of the season, reaching their absolute peak after the trade deadline.
Ham instilled defensive prowess within the roster, urging his players to compete hard on both ends of the floor on every single possession.
That’s why even though it’s been over a month since it happened, Ham is still mad about Steve Kerr’s comments on Lakers’ players being rewarded for flopping.
In a recent appearance on the #thislegue UNCUT with Chris Haynes and Marc Stein, Ham shared his thoughts on the issue, stating that they were trying to control the narrative to get an edge, adding that he would never blame the referees for losing:
“When you try to paint a narrative, I think it’s like playing chess, playing poker, whatever you want to call it,” the coach said. “Guys are trying to give themselves any and every chance, every possible way, to come out on top of a situation and be victorious. Me? I never blame the officiating.”
“We don’t teach flopping” – Darvin Ham pic.twitter.com/FiZ2hBz1Jx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 11, 2023
Truth be told, some Lakers players were caught on camera exaggerating and overreacting to contact, and the free-throw disparity throughout the course of the season was notable, to say the least.
Even so, it’s also worth saying that the Lakers were more than rightful and deserving winners of that series.
They were the better team on the court more often than not, and they beat the Warriors fair and square.
These comments will sting for years to come, and the Lakers and Warriors’ rivalry will most definitely reach an all-time high point with Kerr and Ham.
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