Along with all of the legendary players who have worn the Los Angeles Lakers jersey, this franchise has also been home to some of the greatest coaches in NBA history. In particular, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley are on just about everyone’s Mt. Rushmore of coaches and the Lakers hope they have their next long-term coach to lead this franchise in JJ Redick.
Even before he was hired, there were rumors that the Lakers saw a bit of Riley in Redick. And some former players have compared the young coach to the legendary Lakers coach who won five championships with the organization as a player and coach, most notably taking over the ‘Showtime’ Lakers led by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.
The Lakers recently paid homage to Riley, unveiling his statue outside Crypto.com Arena prior to their contest against the always hated Boston Celtics. And Riley, who still serves as President of the Miami Heat, spoke very highly of Redick and believes the Lakers hired the right person for the job.
“I love JJ. I really do,” Riley said. “I competed against him, my teams competed against him on various teams that he played with. He’s a fiery guy, could shoot the hell out of the ball, he was tough as nails. Sometimes I look back and I remember myself at that time and I look at JJ and I think they picked the right person.
“There’s just a quality about him I think that goes above and beyond and they have a hell of a team for him right here, right now with Doncic and Reaves and obviously LeBron. I think Rob will continue along with the new ownership to build that team and complement those players. But they have a great opportunity and I think JJ will be a great coach for them.”
It makes sense that Riley might see a little bit of himself in Redick as both were successful role players who moved into coaching and kept that same fiery attitude, not being afraid to call out players regardless of their superstar status.
Obviously Redick has a long ways to go in order to reach anywhere close to the heights that Riley did as a coach, but he certainly has the right mindset, work ethic and demeanor to go very far. And the fact that Riley himself feels the Lakers have the right guy should inspire a lot of confidence in his abilities.
Lakers’ JJ Redick: Pat Riley is the ‘north star’ for all coaches
JJ Redick also had a ton of praise for Pat Riley as the Lakers’ head coach fondly remembered watching Riley-coached teams growing up and still feels he is the ‘north star’ for all coaches wanting great success in one place.
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