Coming into the 2025-26 season, most believe in the Los Angeles Lakers on the offensive end as the team will be powered by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, once he’s healthy. The question most have about JJ Redick’s team comes on the other end of the floor and whether or not the Lakers can be good enough defensively to really be a championship contender.
A backcourt of Doncic and Reaves is gonna have its issues defensively despite the latter’s best efforts at defending the opposing team’s top guard. And while Rui Hachimura has certainly grown on that end, he is still far from a lockdown defender. New center Deandre Ayton should be able to provide some rim protection, but he has also had times where his effort and intensity level on defense has been questioned.
Redick and his coaching staff understand the challenges they are facing in building a good defense with this roster and in a recent sit-down with EPSN’s Tim Legler, he made it clear that, in the absence of true individual lockdown defenders, the Lakers have to play great team defense:
Lakers coach JJ Redick sits down with @legsespn for another episode of Coaches Corner 🏀 pic.twitter.com/iH7RXmY8Zv
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 15, 2025
When it comes to individual defenders, the best on the Lakers roster is clearly Jarred Vanderbilt. Marcus Smart is a former Defensive Player of the Year, but he will turn 32 this season and doesn’t quite have the same mobility to chase smaller guards around anymore. Jake LaRavia is also someone who plays good individual defense, but no one would consider him a lockdown guy.
Because of this, like Redick noted, the Lakers’ communication has to be up to speed at all times. Everyone has to be locked in on a string, rotating properly and covering each other otherwise things can go sideways very quickly. The Lakers showed signs of this last season after the Doncic trade as they maintained a strong defense throughout most of the regular season, but they will need to do that consistently this year if they plan on competing for a championship.
Lakers coach JJ Redick sees Jarred Vanderbilt making two-way impact
The one true lockdown defender the Lakers have is Jarred Vanderbilt, but his offensive struggles have often made him difficult to play in certain situations. But head coach JJ Redick sees a lot of growth in his game so far as the regular season nears and believes the forward will be impactful on both sides of the court this season.
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!
