Bucks Coach’s Mother Passes Away at 75

Dec 11, 2023; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA: Milwaukee Bucks mascot Bango waves flag with the Milwaukee Bucks logo prior to the game against the Chicago Bulls at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

A member of the Milwaukee Bucks' extended family has sadly left us.

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Per Dan Woike of The Athletic, Bucks lead assistant coach Darvin Ham's mother, Wilmer Jones Ham, has passed away at age 75. Per Justin Engel of M Live, Jones Ham passed last Monday, September 8 due to "a sudden medical emergency."

She was the first-ever female mayor of Saginaw, Michigan, where both she and her son grew up. Ham would go on to enjoy his greatest success as a deep-bench player for the 2004 champion Detroit Pistons, his home team.

Sad news: Wilmer Jones-Ham, the mother of former Lakers coach Darvin Ham and the first female mayor of their hometown, Saginaw, Mich., died last week. Services will be later this week and a scholarship fund has been started in her remembrance. pic.twitter.com/AnUi5GDRjz

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) September 15, 2025

A service for Jones Ham will be held this Friday, September 19, at the 2,300-capacity The Dow Event Center. Her family has started a scholarship fund in her honor. Jones Ham was also a mother to DeRonnie Turner and Detoya Ham.

Jones Ham was initially a teacher at Saginaw Public Schools, before being appointed to a vacancy on the nine-member Saginaw City Council in 1994. The council appointed her as mayor in 2001, a position she held until 2005. Jones Ham then was Saginaw's mayor pro tem through 2007.

A Trying Time for Darvin Ham

Darvin Ham, 52, is gearing up for his second season in Milwaukee on the staff of decorated head coach Doc Rivers.

After a 12-year pro career, Ham transitioned to an assistant coaching gig with then-D League squad the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, now the Cleveland Cavaliers' G League affiliate the Cleveland Charge. He took over as a head coach ofr the re-dubbed New Mexico Thunderbirds in 2010-11, before jumping ship to the Los Angeles Lakers under Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni from 2011-13.

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Ham worked under Mike Budenholzer on the Atlanta Hawks from 2013-18 and then on the Bucks from 2018-22, winning a championship with the club in 2021. He got his first shot as an NBA head coach with the Lakers from 2022-24.

Overall, Ham posted a 90-74 regular season record and a 9-12 playoff record with the Lakers, who by the 2023 playoffs were led by All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus emerging standout shooting guard Austin Reaves. The 2023 vintage marched all the way to the Western Conference Finals as a No. 7 seed.

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