Darvin Ham makes notable cross-country appearance in between Lakers games
Nov 30, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham at a press conference during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham is certainly having an eventful weekend.
Ham made an appearance on Sunday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich. The Detroit Pistons were playing the Miami Heat and held a ceremony at halftime to commeorate the 20th anniversary of their 2004 NBA championship team. Ham was among the members of that team to appear on Sunday (including the likes of Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Lindsey Hunter, and Mehmet Okur as well).
THE CHAMPS ARE HERE🗣️
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the ‘04 Championship Team 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ZByjX4rM1Y
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) March 17, 2024
What was notable about the appearance of Ham, a reserve wing on that 2004 Pistons team, was that he just coached a game in Los Angeles the night before. The Lakers played against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday (a 128-121 loss marred by mechanical issues). Ham also has another game in L.A. to coach on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks. That means he has a pretty quick turn-around with the 4,000-mile roundtrip flight to Detroit and back in less than 48 hours.
Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, also had a similar situation with appearing in Detroit on Sunday in between games on both Saturday and Monday. But it is a bit easier for him since Portland is on a road trip with a game in nearby Chicago next on deck. When it comes to Ham’s turn-around, that definitely has to rival one that his star player on the Lakers once had.
