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Darvin Ham insisted Russell Westbrook is one of the best players the NBA has ever seen upon his announcement as Los Angeles Lakers head coach on Monday.
The nine-time All-Star and former MVP had a patchy first season in the purple and gold despite averages of 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists.
The 33-year-old was widely regarded as the cause behind the Lakers finishing with a 33-49 record which saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference, even missing the Play-In Tournament.
Asked about fitting Westbrook with LeBron James and Anthony Davis during his introduction as the Lakers coach, Ham took the opportunity to defend the embattled point guard.
“Don’t get it messed up,” he said. “Russ is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there’s still a ton left in that tank. I don’t know why people tend to try to write him off.
“I’m going to approach him like I do every player I’ve ever encountered. We’re going to talk about our running habits, with the ball, without the ball. And again, the team, the rhythm of the team and trying to establish a rhythm with LeBron, Russ, AD.
“And again, share the load defensively and offensively. Defensively is where you’re going to see us make our biggest leaps and bounds. We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball or we don’t have a chance to do anything. Our offence won’t even matter if we don’t get stops.”
After an eight-year playing career in the NBA, Ham got his first coaching job in the league working as an assistant at the Lakers, as a part of Mike Brown’s staff in 2012-13.
After that season, the 48-year-old spent the following years on Mike Budenholzer’s staff with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, winning the NBA title in 2021.
“The fact that I got my start as a coach here, this place will always be special for me,” Ham said. “It’s like a homecoming for me, in all seriousness.”
“As sad as it is for me to be leaving coach Bud, sometimes you got to walk that walk on your own. We went from colleagues, to friends, to brothers while all the while making history.”
