The Los Angeles Lakers and Darvin Ham went their separate ways at the end of a highly disappointing 2023-24 NBA season.

While Ham had clearly lost a lot of players on the roster with his way of doing things, one in particular seems to have played a pivotal role in his downfall.

That player?

Anthony Davis.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Davis played a key role in Ham’s exit.

“When they chose to fire Darvin Ham, I was told that one of the many, many considerations was that it was pretty evident that AD was not on board anymore with Darvin and they know, like everybody else, that AD has a history of having asked for trades in the past,” Amick reported.

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“That’s how he got to the Lakers from New Orleans. The last thing they wanted was for AD to be frustrated with the situation.”

In the closing days of Ham’s time in Los Angeles, a war of words erupted between him and Davis. Between that and the video that leaked out of how much Davis hated Ham, the writing for a split was on the wall.

In the end, Davis is the player L.A. hopes to build around long-term. Ham was just the wrong coach at the wrong time for him.

Other Lakers Players Had Issues With Darvin Ham

Davis wasn’t the only player on the roster who disliked Ham. LeBron James made it no secret that he had beef with the now-former Lakers coach as well.

Plus, it is the worst kept secret in the league that Ham hated Austin Reaves and that Reaves hated him right back.

Ultimately, the decision to hire Ham to be the Lakers’ coach proved to be a huge mistake. You can’t be terrible tactically and a bad leader of personalities and keep your job as a head coach in the NBA, and Ham learned that lesson the hard way.

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Carlos Garcia

A longtime Sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB Games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.