Happy Darvin Ham was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston’s Jaylen Brown says ‘I don’t understand what took so long’

With the hire, a majority-Black league has 15 of 30 Black coaches for the first time.

In a professional sports league where the majority of players are people of color, the hiring of Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham to be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers helped push the NBA to have 15 of their 30 head coaching positions occupied by Black men, Ham’s hire one of eight such around the league to hit this new, important mark for the league.

But for Boston Celtics star forward Jaylen Brown, it isn’t just something to be happy about, the fact that it took more than three-quarters of a century to happen is something that sheds light on wider systemic issues that transcend basketball. Brown was asked his thoughts about the Ham hire at NBA Finals Media Day on Wednesday, and the Georgia native had plenty to say in this vein.

“If you ask me, I don’t understand what took so long,” he suggested.