SUMMARY
- The Los Angeles Lakers just crashed out of the playoffs after losing 106-108 to the Denver Nuggets.
- The playoff failure has left fans raising questions over Darvin Ham's future with the franchise.
The LA Lakers just lost to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs in consecutive years. Last year, the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals by winning the series 4-0. They went on to win the NBA championship. This year, the Lakers faced Nikola Jokic and Co. after getting past the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in. The Nuggets couldn’t have started better when they won three consecutive games.
Although the LA Lakers won Game 4, the defending champs made sure to finish the job in Game 5, all thanks to Jamal Murray. The guard has been in electrifying form recently, despite not being at his 100% in terms of fitness.
Darvin Ham’s interview sends NBA world into meltdown
The playoff failure has placed head coach Darvin Ham‘s future in doubt. Ham is one of the coaches who is sitting in the hot seat and reports claim that he could be fired by the Lakers board. Not only this, even the coach’s postgame interview has sent signs that he may not be with the Lakers for the 2024-25 season. In the interview, he said, “It’s been a hell of a two years sitting in this seat, I’ll tell you that. It’s been a hell of a two years.” (Via Jovan Buha)
His words seemed like it was going to be farewell, and fans thought the same as well. One X user even wrote, “He knows he is done,” indicating that Ham was appreciative of the Lakers opportunity now that he knows he is leaving.
He knows he is done.
— Prados (@ItsPrados) April 30, 2024
Glad he knows it’s over
— ThisIsLgc (@ThisIsLgc) April 30, 2024
Is it finally happening?
— Lebron Lakers Burner (@legoatburner623) April 30, 2024
yea glad they’re over now, goodbye !
— malachiverson (@chiverson_) April 30, 2024
There has not been any official word from NBA insiders regarding the Lakers coaching situation. Shams Charania has mentioned that it is unlikely for Ham to continue as the coach, especially after consecutive playoff setbacks.
LeBron James refuses to answer a question regarding his LA Lakers future
LA Lakers superstar LeBron James’ future has also been in question. The King has four championships to his name, and it is no secret that he is looking to add at least one more to the long list of accolades he has won. That seems unlikely with the Lakers right now, considering the fact that they failed to fill in the loopholes in the trade windows. When questioned about his future, LeBron said, “I’m not going to answer that.”
“I’m not going to answer that” – LeBron James after being questioned about his Lakers future 👀
(Via @BenGolliver)#LeBronJames #NBAPlayoffs #Lakers #Nuggets pic.twitter.com/b3VOGqIvbs
— Sportsmanor (@sports_manor) April 30, 2024
He will likely continue as an NBA player, but the team he represents could change in the coming months. It is not a huge surprise considering the Lakers franchise has failed to build a championship-contending team around LeBron and Anthony Davis, and that is the primary reason why they failed to get past the Nuggets twice in two years.