3 former players and current assistants OKC Thunder should consider for head coach

Darvin Ham – Bucks assistant

For years the chairs placed next to Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich were like a revolving door at season end as team after team would look first to San Antonio for their coaching hires. As Pops top assistant Mike Budenholzer was one of the first to move onto a head coaching role with the Atlanta Hawks. Now it’s coach Bud who is nurturing and fulfilling those empty head coaching seats as three of his former assistant coaches left for head coaching positions.

Most recently, Taylor Jenkins became the Grizzlies head coach and made an immediate impact in Memphis coming just shy of landing the final playoff birth in Orlando at the play-in tournament.  Two of Bud’s assistants are now receiving interest from clubs and while Charles Lee is the name drawing the most attention it’s Darvin Ham who may be the hidden coaching gem.

As a former NBA small forward Ham played eight seasons in the NBA with a brief respite playing in Spain for a year.   His experience as a player is superseded by his time in the coaching ranks as an assistant. Ham began his journey with the Lakers but honed his skills under the tutelage of Mike Budenholzer both in Atlanta with the Hawks and currently in Milwaukee with the Bucks.

Although his time as a coach hasn’t equated to landing the hardware he does have a championship ring from his playing days with the Detroit Pistons. The small forward was very much the prototype of that Pistons championship team who relied more on a team style without emphasis on superstars. His dogged, gritty nature was the perfect compliment for the Pistons big four of Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, and Rip Hamilton.

He’s brought the same mindset to his coaching career and been a part of some highly successful teams. While with the Hawks the squad was a perennial home court seed and with the Bucks he’s experienced back-to-back seasons as part of a team finishing with the best record.

The 47-year old has roots in team building and teaching with experience holding clinics and coaching with Basketball Without Borders. His passion for this part of the sport began when he traveled to Venezuela to participate in 2011. He’s continued the clinics with an annual clinic concentrating on team building and front-office management.

Although Ham has experienced working with superstars he’s also thrived in environments with more of an overall team emphasis. The combination of this experience and his emphasis on teaching would bode well for Ham being aptly suited as the head coach of the OKC Thunder.