2:20 PM PT -- Dan Hurley just addressed the elephant in the room ... saying it was a humbling experience.

"At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut," he said.

Hurley added he met with the team prior to Monday's practice ... and now, they're switching focus back to getting better as a team and defending their championship this season.

Dan Hurley is slamming the door on the Los Angeles Lakers ... with reports saying he will not accept their lucrative, $70 MILLION offer to become their next head coach -- choosing to remain at UConn.

The news broke on Monday ... with Fox Sports' John Fanta saying Hurley will pursue his third-straight national championship instead of making the jump to the Association.

Hurley's ties to the Purple and Gold seemingly came out of nowhere last week ... when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski revealed the Lakers were eyeing the back-to-back championship-winning coach the entire time -- and were preparing to back up the Brinks trucks to make it happen.

Woj reported Hurley's offer was a six-year deal worth $70 million ... but even that kinda dough wasn't enough to sway him away from Storrs.

The Lakers reportedly also had interest in names like James Borrego, JJ Redick, Sam Cassell, Kenny Atkinson, Mike Budenholzer and Ty Lue at the start of their search.

Now, they'll go back to the drawing board ... which breathes life back into the rumors the former Duke superstar could be Darvin Ham's replacement.

Another name that has been thrown into the mix -- former longtime Villanova coach Jay Wright, who the Lakers have also looked into in recent days.

As we previously reported, Ham got the boot after just two seasons ... on the heels of the Lake Show's early exit from the playoffs at the hands of the defending champion Denver Nuggets.