After spending two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team management has fired head coach Darvin Ham. While rumors of his sacking circulated for quite some time now, they finally pulled the plug after the Nuggets eliminated LeBron James and Co from the playoffs. With this recent incident, the Lakers finally started the hunt to find a new coach to lead their elite team. Many names are being floated as potential candidates for the same, with each possessing the potential to help the Lakers be a championship contender during the 2025-26 season. However, one name from the list is gaining more traction than the others. It is that of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.

Renowned NBA journalist Shams Charania first revealed the potential candidate. Taking to his official X account, he revealed Kenny Atkinson’s name as one amongst the other individuals, like Mike Budenholzer, JJ Redick, and even Ty Lue. The same update was also recently highlighted by ‘Warriors on NBCS’.

Kenny Atkinson has been a part of the NBA world for quite some time now. Unlike other coaches, however, he had spent no time in the league as a player earlier. Instead, he played for various professional clubs in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands from 1993 to 2004. His performance would later earn him a place in the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. Immediately after retirement, he established his own coaching career and joined the New York Knicks four years later.

After two assistant coach gigs with the Knicks and later the Atlanta Hawks, Atkinson was made the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in 2016. Under his leadership, the team established a 118-189 win record in four years and reached the playoffs twice. After stepping down, he served as the assistant coach for the LA Clippers for less than a year before finally finding his footing with the Steve Kerr-led Golden State Warriors. During the 2022 NBA Finals, the Charlotte Hornets asked Atkinson to take up the head coach position. 

While reports claimed that he had informally agreed, the assistant coach later chose to stay with the Warriors. In a statement, Steve Kerr said that Atkinson’s decision to stay was based on his family. Despite this, he said, “We’re lucky to have him back”.

The 56-year-old’s moment to shine came back in February when Steve Kerr had to travel to Serbia in the middle of the tournament to attend the funeral of the Warriors’ former assistant coach, Dejan Milojević. With his help, the team was able to pull off a 129-107 win against the Utah Jaaz. Kenny Atkinson has shown signs of wanting to return to the head coach position, and he has a good chunk of experience backing him. However, he finds himself competing against an elite group of coaches.

Kevin Atkinson to revitalize Lakers after Ham’s era?

Rumors about a potential Darvin Ham firing had been a subject of conversation amongst NBA enthusiasts for quite a long time. According to Shams Charania, there had been many instances of the coach creating “discontent” amongst the Lakers roster. Furthermore, despite a plan by Rob Pelinka to build a core team built on a title run around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Ham would engage in “fluctuating rotations, game plans and lack of adjustments” that caused the roster to underperform.

Things remained fine until the regular season, during which the Lakers had a decent enough record to qualify for the play-in series and later the playoffs. However, the situation intensified once the team established a 1-4 record against the Denver Nuggets and eliminated themselves. During Game 2 of the series, the Lakers lost the matchup despite possessing a 20-point lead while entering the second half. The loss received severe backlash from fans, as well as the players, due to the results.

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Darvin Ham also had concerns about getting the respect of some players. Lakers Daily reporter Andrew Irvin highlighted one individual who had a critical issue with the coach: lead scorer LeBron James himself. According to Irvin, LeBron would often “rolls his eyes” whenever Ham provided instructions to all the other players in the huddle. Once he was done and possibly away from earshot, the player would tell his teammates to “f**k all that” and give out his own set of instructions.

In the aftermath of Game 2, team center Anthony Davis put out a statement that said, “We have stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor”. Many noted this remark, including Warriors star Draymond Green, as an alleged attack towards Ham and other members of the coaching staff.

Apr 3, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham (L) talks with Lakers forward LeBron James (23) against the Washington Wizards in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

All the above factors played a role in Darvin Ham’s exit. If Kenny Atkinson ends up replacing him, he will have to work hard to not only earn the trust of the Lakers roster but also restore the team to a championship-worthy condition.