Lakers News: Darvin Ham's Strategy To Stop Giannis Antetokounmpo

The former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach finds himself in the opposing locker room tonight.

First-year Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham, who served as an assistant coach for Mike Budenholzer from 2013-2022 with the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks, will return to Milwaukee to face his former team for the first time since taking the main gig for L.A. this summer. Ham won a championship with the Bucks in 2021.

He spoke with gathered media ahead of the game about his old stomping grounds and his strategy to slow down the unstoppable force that is Bucks All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

"You just start thinking about all those memories and everything you went through in this building and the history you made," Ham said of his time back in Fiserv Forum. "It was great. Wonderful feelings."

"They are who they are for a reason," Ham said of his old club. "Brook [Lopez] is having a phenomenal year, right along with Giannis, Jrue [Holiday]. The way they're built, their chemistry, their synergy with one other. You just gotta be willing to have a next-play mentality and compete as hard as you can for 48 minutes in order to try to have a chance to come out on top against this team."

"Offense can be fleeting," Ham noted of his approach to the game. "Defense, on the other hand, if you really embrace it, focus on it, and really try to carry it out, consistently, it gives you a chance. I think the team sees that, especially the things we point out in film." 

When it comes to defending Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, Ham emphasized that his approach was "just the same thing" it is for any rival team. "We're not all over the place where we have eight different coverages for eight different actions. We're just consistent with how we want to approach things."

The action just tipped off on ESPN. Give it a gander.