When they say sport runs in your genes, it makes you wonder if coaching has an inherent flair of its own too. Well, if you have a sporting legacy like the Hams’, you would think twice before disagreeing with this one! And if you are an ardent follower of the Milwaukee Bucks or have kept a tab on the LA Lakers last season, then Darvin Ham Sr. will definitely come across as a familiar face. From the typical pep talks during timeouts to the strategic substitute induction at the crucial moments during a match in the capacity of a professional basketball coach, Darvin Ham Sr. has been through all the ups and downs in his career that one could possibly imagine! But let’s steal the spotlight from Ham Sr. for a moment and shine it upon his eldest son, Darvin Ham Jr., shall we?

With the ball and the hoop dominating a major chunk of his childhood days, unlike most other players, Darvin Ham Jr. did not have to pick and choose his calling. It was always there in plain sight, beckoning to him to try his luck. Darvin Ham Jr.’s name popped up when he got hired as the player development coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season.

Having gained the distinct flair of astuteness from his father, along with some valuable coaching insights at the high school and collegiate level, Ham Jr. spent the 2018–2019 season as a part-time assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State, dividing his time between Arthur Hill High School and Delta College. “I can’t be happier to have Darvin as a part of my first staff at Northwood,” said head coach Lonnie Griffin. “His passion for our student-athletes and this University are second to none. Darvin’s experience as a high-level player in the GLIAC and his professional career give him a strong understanding of what it takes for our players to be successful.” This begs the question: How did this family of coaches manage to pull it off as a trending family profession?

From Father to Son: The changing of guards

There are some folks for whom you have to skim through all the nooks and crannies of the Internet before you glean some nuggets of information on their lives. Well, unlike his father, Ham Jr. is one such fellow! Not much is known about his growing years as the coaching wizard’s son, all set to create a niche of his own, has tried to maintain a low profile. Northwood University has a section on him on their website, as he served in the capacity of an assistant coach there for the fourth time in a row during the 2022–23 season.

Ham Jr.’s lowkey presence emerges from the humble beginnings that the family wears like a badge of pride. As shared by his father in an interview, “All the things my grandma has seen over the years… where we come from as a family, it was mind-boggling the opportunities we have today. They were sharecroppers, and were a part of the Great Migration pilgrimage coming up from the south, my grandfather from Mississippi and my grandmother from Georgia. They were making $1 an hour all of a sudden after getting paid 15 to 20 cents as sharecroppers. It just goes to show you how far we’ve come.”

It has indeed been quite a journey for Ham’s family. Being the eldest of the three sons, Ham Jr. too shared his father’s passion for the net game. His two younger brothers are Donovan and Dominic, who have also indulged in their love for basketball during college. A 2018 graduate from Northwood University, he was a player at Northwood from 2010–2014 and an integral part of the 2011–12 team that won the GLIAC North Division and had the most NCAA D2 wins in school history. Ham didn’t disappoint with his persona on court and his overall performance, as he went on to earn All-GLIAC honors and became a member of the 1,000-point club. With his excellent cross dribbles across the hardcourt, Ham also played one season in Germany (2016) for ProB club Wolfenbuttel. After which, he shifted gears and took to his father’s coaching trail.

And he has taken just the time needed to hone his skills. All set to test them out in the role of an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA G League, according to his LinkedIn profile, which reads, “My goal is to continue to develop and acquire as much knowledge as I can to help grow the game. I am more than willing to share the game and build relationships with coaches at all levels. Let’s all continue to Get Better everyday.” But what about the man who inspired him to carry the tradition forward?

The rise, fall, and potential resurgence of the Darvin Ham coaching saga

The year was 2004, and the Detroit Pistons were having the match of their lifetime. Leading them like a frontrunner was Darvin Ham Sr., who went on to clinch the NBA championship that year. But the story starts way sooner than that. Ham survived a near-fatal gunshot wound to his face when he was 14. Growing up in a household with “strong, spiritual faith, belief in God and his Son, Jesus Christ,” he shared in his introductory press conference with the Lakers, Ham’s close rendezvous with Death brought him even closer to his faith.

Speaking about his transition to basketball, which became the anchor of his life, Ham confessed, “I was losing focus in the classroom, and my dad said I couldn’t play until I got my grades back up until they were way above average. That was around the time I made the switch from football to basketball. I’d lost the appetite for football based on seeing other guys that were getting bigger by lifting weights, but I was just a lanky kid.” Ham Sr. went to attend Texas Tech University, where he also met the love of his life, Deneitra. The couple have been married since, boldly facing the rough patches along the way. Currently, she is an elementary school teacher who takes great pride in her philanthropic initiatives, having chaired the NGO Urban Youth Development, which she co-founded with her husband.

While in college, Ham Sr. started playing for the Red Raiders. During one such match, he became an overnight household name by shattering the backboard on a slam dunk during the 1996 NCAA Tournament against North Carolina. This historic dunk brought in the much-needed momentum shift for Texas Tech, springing them to the first Sweet Sixteen in school history. The dunk also got featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Fast forward to his coaching career, where Ham Sr. won a second championship in 2021 with the Milwaukee Bucks. 

However, his brief tenure in LA was all the more interesting. Having tactfully managed to survive the Russell Westbrook era for half a season, he went head-on with some coaching chops in the playoffs that helped the Lakers gain a strategic foothold in the Western Conference Finals. It wasn’t a mere fluke. And just when the fans had started showing some optimism about the Lakers’ performance, Ham decided to take a step back to a point of no return. The starting lineups became his nemesis, which has already become a famous story in the NBA world. A public tiff with AD during the postseason caught a lot of furrowed eyebrows. And we all know how the heavy gauntlet was thrown by Rob Pelinka later that season, who said, “We all want to thank Darvin for his dedication and positivity. While this was a difficult decision to make, it is the best course of action following a full review of the season.” 

It would be worth keeping an eye out for Darvin Ham Jr. this season and getting a taste of the refined coaching tactics that Northwood has been flaunting. Will he be able to deliver on the inherent skills acquired from his father’s bittersweet legacy as a coach or force the Cavaliers to look for an alternate option? It will definitely be worth the wait!