Lakers coaching staff: Meet head coach Darvin Ham and his assistant coaches

Darvin Ham is looking to lead the Lakers back to the Finals in his first year as a head coach.

The Lakers signed Ham to a multi-year deal after firing Frank Vogel, who coached the franchise to a championship in 2020. Ham joined the Lakers after being an assistant coach in the NBA for over a decade.

Ham didn't bring an entirely new coaching staff with him to Los Angeles, but there are a number of new faces on the team's sideline.

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Lakers coaching staff

The 2022-23 season marks Ham's first as head coach of the Lakers.

Ham's coaching staff includes Phil Handy, who has the reputation of being one of the best development coaches in the NBA. Chris Jent, Jordan Ott, J.D. DuBois, Schuyler Rimmer and Zach Peterson are each in their first seasons as assistant coaches on the Lakers.

Who is Darvin Ham?

Ham is a former NBA player in his first year as a head coach.

Following three years at Texas Tech, Ham went undrafted in the 1996 NBA Draft. He went on to have an eight-year career in the NBA that included stints with the Nuggets, Pacers, Wizards, Bucks, Hawks and Pistons.

Ham retired in the mid-2000s with averages of 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists over 417 regular season games. He played an additional 55 playoff games and won a championship as a member of the Pistons in 2004.

Ham also played overseas and in the NBA D-League.

Darvin Ham is another #GLeagueAlum making waves in the coaching industry. The @lakers HC played one year in the G before earning his 1st coaching gig with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.

He & @celtics Ime Udoka are the only two @nba head coaches with G League playing experience. pic.twitter.com/5SUBaQRBLj

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) June 15, 2022

Ham moved to the sidelines in 2008 when he became an assistant coach for the D-League's Albuquerque Thunderbirds. He later served as the franchise's head coach.

In 2011, Ham made the jump to the NBA as an assistant coach for the Lakers. He was an assistant coach on the Lakers (2011-13), Hawks (2013-18) and Bucks (2018-22) before landing his first head coaching gig.

Who are the Lakers' assistant coaches?

Chris Jent

Jent spent time on the coaching staffs of the 76ers (2003-04), Magic (2004-05), Cavaliers (2006-11), Kings (2013-15) and Hawks (2017-22). He was also an assistant coach at Ohio State (2011-13, 2016-17) and head coach of the G League's Bakersfield Jam (2015-16).

Phil Handy

Handy is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Lakers. He's won three championships as an assistant coach in the NBA — one with the Cavaliers (2016), one with the Raptors (2019) and one with the Lakers (2020).

Handy has developed a reputation as one of the best development coaches in the NBA. 

Jordan Ott

Ott was an assistant coach for the Nets between 2016-22. He was previously a video coordinator for the Hawks (2013-16) and at Michigan State (2008-13).

J.D. DuBois

DuBois was an assistant coach on the Pistons (2018-22) and worked in player development for the Raptors (2017-18).

Schuyler Rimmer

Rimmer spent four seasons with the Bucks as the team's assistant video coordinator. He worked with the Hawks during the 2017-18 season.

Zach Peterson

Peterson started his NBA career with the Hawks, where he climbed from a video intern (2014) to head video coordinator (2017-18). He then served as the head video coordinator for the Bucks (2018-19) before joining the Thunder as a development coach in 2019-20.

Dru Anthrop

Anthrop is in his fourth season as head video coordinator for the Lakers. He got his start as a film coordinating intern for the Pacers (2013-15), and he has worked with both the Grizzlies and Magic.

Jon Pastorek

Pastorek is in his fourth season with the Lakers, three of which have been as assistant video coordinator.