After Darvin Ham’s recent disclosure regarding his dispute with the Lakers, the former Warriors great said bluntly, “You have to talk to LeBron’s ego.”

Darvin Ham, who recently won his second straight NBA Cup title as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, expressed frustration over his firing from the LA Lakers earlier this year. Despite guiding the Lakers to a Western Conference Finals appearance as a seventh seed in 2022-23 and winning the inaugural NBA Cup in 2024, Ham was let go in May following criticism of his rotations and in-game adjustments. He questioned the Lakers’ decision to fire him, arguing that any other team would have likely extended him given his accomplishments.

However, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas weighed in on the situation during a recent episode of Gil’s Arena, claiming that Ham’s coaching style didn’t mesh well with LeBron James’ high basketball IQ. Arenas pointed out that coaching a player like LeBron, who has an exceptional understanding of the game, would be a challenge for someone with a lower basketball IQ. He likened the dynamic to a teacher being outsmarted by a genius student, suggesting that LeBron might have tuned Ham out due to their differing levels of intelligence on the court.

Despite the difficulties Ham faced with the Lakers, Arenas acknowledged that he performed better than many of LA’s coaches post-Phil Jackson and will likely have another opportunity as a head coach in the future.