Darvin Ham's first gig as an NBA head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers contains all of the pressure. He will have to help the team overcome its miserable 2021-22 season and deal with the sky-high expectations of any LeBron James-led team.

Ham isn't afraid of the challenge at all. He told Marc Spears of Andscape that pressure is a “boogeyman” that doesn't really get to him because he was nearly killed in his own neighborhood earlier in his life. That incident gives him the confidence and strength he needs to deal with pressure as a coach.

I got shot in my right jaw. They took the bullet out the left side of my neck. I actually looked toward where the shots were coming from to see who was shooting. And me and my brother, my brother DeRonnie Turner, he was driving. It was just the wrong place, wrong time.

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The Lakers need a coach that can weather the storm of countless rumors about the team and the extreme expectations from Los Angeles' owners. Leading veterans like James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook will be tough, especially for a first-time head coach. Ham has a clean outlook on what is ahead of him.

So, I understand what the challenge is. I don’t want to say expectations. It’s the order of things. I understand what the order of things are with this franchise, and I embrace it, accept it 1,000% because I’m built like that.

Los Angeles hired Ham after firing Frank Vogel, who coached the Lakers to the 2020 championship.