“Darvin Ham’s reputation is shot to hell” - Lakers fans have Scotty Pippen Jr.‘s back after Bulls legend’s son fires shots at Bucks assistant

Scotty Pippen Jr. seemingly took shots at his former coach and Bucks' assistant Darvin Ham on Thursday after helping the Grizzlies beat Milwaukee 122-99. Pippen Jr.'s first NBA coach was Ham when he made his league debut in the 2022-23 season. However, the Bulls legend, Scottie Pippen's son, couldn't crack LA's rotation under Ham.

Here's what Pippen Jr. said after Thursday's game:

"One of the coaches over there didn’t believe in me so I definitely wanted to show him I can play some defense."

Pippen Jr. tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and one steal in 26 minutes off the bench, shooting 5 of 8. He primarily guarded Damian Lillard and held him to zero points in six minutes, forcing three misses from the floor.

Scotty Pippen Jr.'s shots at Darvin Ham received wide support from the Lakers fan base. Majority of the LA faithful believe Ham's coaching held the team back last year. Here's what one fan wrote while showing support to Pippen Jr.:

"Darvin Ham’s reputation is shot to hell as a HC & I am here for it. I’m glad this dumb clown is getting exposed."

"LFG Scotty, talk yo s**t," another said.

"Bro thinks Pippen Jr. can’t play defense? Well, his opinion doesn’t matter coz no one thinks he can coach now," another fan wrote.

More reactions followed:

Reactions to Scotty Pippen Jr.'s comments

Looking at Scotty Pippen Jr.'s career under Darvin Ham and with Memphis Grizzlies

Pippen Jr. played in a sporadic role for Darvin Ham's Lakers averaging 5.3 minutes in six games with LA as a rookie. Pippen played the season out with the Lakers' G League affiliate, South Bay Lakers. He joined the G League team again in 2023 but switched teams in January 2024, joining his current franchise, the Memphis Grizzlies, on a two-way deal.

He's been a hit in Memphis since his debut season. He averaged 12.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 49/42/75 splits in 21 games, including 16 starts for the Grizzlies in 2023-24. He earned himself a standard four-year deal with the Grizzlies this past offseason.

Since then, in six games, Pippen Jr. has managed 10.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 6.3 apg on 51/40/79 splits, coming off the bench. Perhaps the Lakers could have invested time into his development when Ham was in charge and had him ready to become a contributor this season.

They are short on guards that can impact both ends of the floor, and Scotty Pippen Jr. could have been an excellent option right now, looking at his production since last year.