JJ Redick’s first year as Los Angeles Lakers head coach is in the rearview and he is now in the middle of gearing up for Year 2.
Redick’s first year ended abruptly in the playoffs as the Lakers were eliminated in just five games, but still drew rave reviews from the players and organization. In fact, the team was so impressed with their head coach that they decided to give him a contract extension prior to training camp.
While Redick did well in his first year, there were obvious areas of growth. For example, he seemed to have a short fuse when it came to making mistakes and over the course of a whole season that can wear on a person.
During the offseason, Redick detailed what he took away from his first year and acknowledged that chasing perfection like Kobe Bryant isn’t sustainable, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“I spent a lot of time after the season with my performance coach and did a lot of journaling, self reflection, all of that stuff. Worked through some things. I think the biggest thing for is just having the ability to properly turn it on and off. And also, recognizing – and I’ve always recognized this – not everybody is wired like Kobe. I’m not saying I’m wired like Kobe, but not everybody is wired like Tom Brady or Kobe. You got to kind of meet guys where they are. And that doesn’t change the standard or expectation for them but having a little empathy on that.”
Redick’s alluding to Bryant’s relentless pursuit to perfect his craft, even if it came at the cost of his teammates or own mental space. Bryant was a maniacal worker in the gym who did everything he could to gain an edge on his opponents, but Redick understands that’s not who he is as a head coach.
There are going to be moments where Redick needs to be more patient with his players as he tries to get everybody ready for the 2025-26 season, but it sounds like he has a better idea of how to go about that this year.
Gabe Vincent likes JJ Redick being hard on Lakers players during training camp
After last season ended, JJ Redick emphasized the Lakers needed to get into championship shape. That edict carried over to training camp where he has been running conditioning drills at the end of practices.
Gabe Vincent may not enjoy the extra workouts, but he likes that Redick has been hard on the players.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
