Ham's slam dunk during the 1996 NCAA Tournament made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Darvin Ham (born July 23, 1973 in Saginaw, Michigan) is an American former professional basketball player. He played eight seasons in the NBA.

[edit] Basketball career

Ham attended Saginaw High School and Texas Tech University. While playing for Texas Tech, he gained national attention by shattering the backboard on a slam dunk during the 1996 NCAA Tournament against UNC. The dunk shifted momentum for the Red Raiders, catapulting them to the second Sweet Sixteen in school history. The dunk was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Ham won the NCAA slam dunk contest in 1996, following former college teammate Lance Hughes' win in 1995. He went on to play in eight NBA seasons, also competing in the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and was a member of the 2004 NBA champion Detroit Pistons. His powerful slams earned him the nickname "Dunkin Darvin" and "Ham Slamwich" from George Blaha, the Pistons play-by-play announcer.^[1]

On January 17, 2006, Ham was enlisted by the Philippine Basketball Association team Talk N' Text Phone Pals as its import.^[2] He averaged 16 points in the 2006 PBA Fiesta Conference Playoffs. However, the Pals eventually lost to Air21 Express in the series, 2–3.

In 2006, Ham served as a studio analyst for Fox Sports Southwest's coverage of the Dallas Mavericks' playoff run. Previously, he was a member of the summer league team for the Orlando Magic in the Pepsi Pro Summer League from July 10-14, 2006.

After appearing in the 2006 preseason with the New Jersey Nets, he had a similar stint with the Mavericks in 2007, and was waived on October 24, 2007.^[3] He was then drafted third overall in the 2007 NBA D-League draft by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds.^[4] On April 4, 2008, the Thunderbirds traded Ham to the Austin Toros.^[5]

In October 2008, Ham was named an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds.^[6]

[edit] Personal

Ham is the son of Wilmer Jones-Ham, the first female mayor of Saginaw, serving from 2001 to 2005^[7].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Darvin Ham Info Page at NBA.com

• Darvin Ham Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com