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The debut episode of the Netflix documentary “Starting Five” — which followed LeBron James and four other All-Star players throughout the 2023-24 NBA season — dropped on the streaming service on October 9.
In one of the scenes, James can be seen going on a tirade, blasting then-Lakers head coach Darvin Ham and his coaching staff for keeping him on a minute restriction.
“I know y’all have got me on old man time percentage and [expletive] — play eight minutes [per quarter] and [expletive],” James told Ham and his staff. “Two shots in eight minutes just getting cardio. I hate this [expletive] already, just garbage.”
The documentary showed James reviewing the clip and admitting he was unhappy with Ham’s coaching decision.
“The minutes restriction — it’s just something I don’t agree with,” James said. “I’ve never agreed with it. I prepare my body, physically and mentally, for battle. I’ve had conversations, talks, and battles with coaches, and, I get it [cautionary minute restriction], but also understand me. And I get me. There’s nobody who gets me more than me,” the all-time scoring leader said.
James Not a Fan of Load Management
The incident occurred during the October 24, 2023 game between the Lakers and Nuggets, which was the opening night of the 2023-24 season. James played only 29 minutes in the game as the Lakers suffered a 119-107 loss.
After the loss, Ham remained adamant that James would remain on a 30-minute restriction as he wanted to ensure the aging forward worked with a lighter load.
However, James would play 35 minutes in just the second game against the Suns, on October 26, 2023. Ultimately, he would average 35.3 minutes for the season.
Insider: James ‘Lost Faith’ in Ham’s Regime
While the clip seems to validate the theory that James and Ham did not see eye-eye-eye, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported on October 3 that James had “lost faith” in Ham, who was fired immediately after the 2023-24 season.
“Those that know James best say he craves structure and accountability,” Shelburne wrote. “He thrives in disciplined, highly organized systems. He does his best when everyone on the team understands their role. All are elements he had lost faith in under the Lakers’ previous regime, sources said.”
Furthermore, several Laker players such as D’Angelo Russell have taken subtle shots at Ham, while expressing happiness over the approach taken by his successor, JJ Redick.
On Media Day ahead of the 2024-25 season, Russell said the Lakers “lacked a defensive structure” last year and hinted at Ham not allowing him to flourish as a player.
Ham, too, fired some jabs at Russell shortly before being dismissed as Lakers coach. In his season-ending news conference, Ham said certain starters on his team [expletive] the bed at points in the 2023-24 season, which was perceived as a shot at Russell.
“If you’re coaching a team and one of your starters is like 10 games in a row, just [expletive] the bed, what are you going to do?” Ham said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Ham was the third head coach to be fired since James joined the Lakers in 2018, following the dismissals of Frank Vogel in 2022 and Luke Walton in 2019.
Following his dismissal, Ham landed a new job as the assistant coach of the Bucks.
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