Darvin Ham is as steadfastly optimistic as anybody on the planet, so it's no surprise that he believes the Los Angeles Lakers have the pieces in place to deliver the franchise's 18th NBA championship.

Speaking at a Basketball Without Borders event in South Africa, Ham projected confidence that the Lakers — following a productive offseason — have the depth and talent to compete with the best.

“Absolutely,” he told ESPN when asked if the Lakers can be a championship-caliber ballclub. “We have leadership like LeBron James and Anthony Davis; some of the talent we were able to bring back in Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell.

“Then, you think about the guys we added in Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes. I think the sky is the limit for what we will be able to do.

“I think we added a lot of depth, a lot of guys that have skill, size and athleticism, so I look forward to all of that coming together.”

Of course, Ham knows talent isn't everything. He stressed that luck and chemistry will be critical factors in the Lakers' success.

“A coach I worked for always used to always say, ‘The most together team will win.'”

“…You need to execute and have a team full of guys who are willing to sacrifice their personal goals, their personal agendas, to align themselves with what the team goal is and that's to win the championship.

“A lot of luck goes into that. Obviously, at our level, you have to be healthy; you have to be in a good rhythm team-wise — all the guys have to be on the same page. You have to keep your team organized.

“Obviously, in the middle of all that, is talent, but at the end of the day, it's a team sport and the team that's most together — selflessly putting themselves on the line for the greater good of the team — those are usually the teams that come out on top.”

The Lakers — fresh off a Western Conference Finals run — currently have the seventh-shortest odds (+1500) to win the 2024 NBA Championship, per FanDuel.

Some of the team's additions, such as Reddish, have already been working out at the team facility and getting acclimated to their new surroundings. The Lakers will likely gather for a minicamp hosted by LeBron on the weekend before training camp opens, on Oct. 3.

Their regular season will begin vs. the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 24 — marking the second straight year, they'll be the visitors on ring night.