The Los Angeles Lakers hiring Darvin Ham has turned out to be a great decision so far. Ham has helped the Lakers reach the Western Conference Finals in his first season as the head coach of the Purple and Gold.
Speaking of Ham, he made an appearance on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast back in July 2022. In the interview, Ham shared details about getting shot in the face when he was just 14 years old.
“I got shot [on] April 5th, 1988. It’s something when you go through an experience like that, it really stays with you. … So we out in the streets, mom and dad at the house. Sent me and my older brother Duran to go get a pizza. … So, we go get the pizza but we forgot the soda, so we stopped at this place called Al’s Market. We get the soda, get out of there.”
Ham added: “They start clapping just hitting shots, right? So I turned and looked toward the shots. And that’s when I got hit. If I’d just ducked or tried to lean over, I wouldn’t be sitting here in front of you all right now. The fact that I turned and looked toward the shots, it ricocheted off my jaw, and they took it out the left side of my neck. I was in the hospital for about 11 days.”
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The incident must have been traumatizing for Darvin Ham. But instead of letting it get the better of him, Ham said it made him fearless.
Ham revealed that’s why he didn’t feel any pressure when taking the job of the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.
To be honest, Ham had a rocky start to his rookie season as head coach but has done a great job of coaching the Lakers so far. Under his leadership, the Lakers are now gearing up to play against the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
Darvin Ham Had PTSD After Getting Shot
No matter how strong Darvin Ham acts, getting shot is a life-changing event. Even though, Ham has learned to deal with it now, it wasn’t an easy task by any means.
So much so that, the Lakers’ head coach suffered from PTSD after getting shot in the face. He gave an emotional speech about how he has learned to deal with it over the years.
“As Black people, we don’t have enough therapy,” Ham said. “I have PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] to this day off them shots ringing out, getting shot, the s**t going on in my neighborhood. And we don’t … we think it’s cowardice or we’re weak if we go get help. And we need so much help, bro.”
Either way, Ham doesn’t let it impact his decision as the head coach of the Lakers. If Ham can lead the Lakers to an NBA Championship in his rookie season as a coach, his name will forever be etched in the history of the league.
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