From all the key personnel within the Los Angeles Lakers, new head coach Darvin Ham is arguably the happiest on the LeBron James extension.
In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Ham expressed his gladness on a player like James committing for an extended years of stay in Los Angeles.
“It’s huge, man,” Darvin Ham told ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly. “It’s huge. LeBron is once-in-a-lifetime player. You only get so many players. Not even so many. You have Bill Russell, you have Wilt Chamberlain, you have Dr. J, you have Moses Malone, you had Larry Bird, Magic [Johnson], you had [Michael] Jordan, you had Allen Iverson, Shaq [O’Neal], Kobe [Bryant], and now it’s LeBron’s time.
“It’s once-in-a-lifetime type player that’s gonna be mentioned with the greats and mentioned as THE greatest,” Ham added. “The things that he was facing coming out of high school and things he had to endure and conquer. He’s passed all tests with flying colors.”
Both James and the Lakers have agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million extension, allowing the future hall of famer to possibly remain in the franchise until the end of the 2024-2025 season.
This gives the Lakers a boosted confidence to go all in and capitalize their window to win more titles down the road. As for coach Ham, it gives a huge breather of having the four-time league MVP by his side for several years to come.
Upon the recent acquisition of Patrick Beverley, L.A. remains poised to make necessary moves and deliver impactful deals to strengthen their upcoming campaign with James still back for more.
