Darvin Ham has gotten advice from legendary Lakers coach Bill Bertka

Although many have praised the Los Angeles Lakers’ hire of new head coach Darvin Ham, it is a bit of a risk.

Ham has put in several years as an assistant and has been regarded as one of the best assistants in the NBA, but he has never been a head coach in the league.

That is why many agree it is very important for him to assemble a coaching staff that has at least one man with experience as a head coach.

But another thing young head coaches do is seek advice from their more experienced brethren. During a recent draft workout, Ham did exactly that: He sought advice from Bill Bertka, a longtime Lakers assistant coach.

Bertka has been there and done that. He has been a basketball coach at the high school, college and pro levels going back to the early 1950s.

He first became an assistant coach with the Lakers in 1971, just in time to be a part of their legendary 1972 team that won 33 games in a row and the NBA championship, the team’s first since moving to Los Angeles.

After a few years with the New Orleans/Utah Jazz, Bertka returned to the Lakers in 1981, serving under Pat Riley as an assistant for the transcendent Showtime teams.

He remained in that capacity through the 1990s and early 2000s, which allowed him to witness a new era of Laker teams, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, hang championship banners of their own.

Today, Bertka, who is in his 90s, is a consultant for the Lakers organization.

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Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire