Deandre Ayton has been on a fascinating NBA journey ahead of joining the Los Angeles Lakers to play for head coach JJ Redick in 2025. The former No. 1 overall pick was in an NBA Finals within three years of being drafted, was traded in a salary dump deal to the Portland Trail Blazers less than two years later and spent two years there being underutilized on a non-winning team.
Ayton is now off to a strong start with the Lakers, including 29 points and 10 rebounds against his former Trail Blazers in a stunning shorthanded win on Monday night. He’s been exactly what the Lakers were hoping for when they signed him a two-year contract in the offseason.
As the Lakers center looks at what’s been working for him — and for the 6-2 team — thus far, Ayton gave plenty of credit to Redick, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
“I think it all started in training camp. Really just going as hard as we can. JJ not giving a crap who’s out there, you know, he wants to play Laker basketball. And, you know, just being coachable and doing what we’re told. JJ has been in this game for a while, he’s won this game for a while. So I think anything he say, we can trust it, and he’s proven that point a few times. So it becomes a thing, you know, in our routine just to approach the game the right way, with some professionalism as well. And it’s starting to spread, as you can see the guys deep in the bench, you know, coming up, showing up, getting 25 points. That’s really legit. That’s big time to be honest. No LeBron, no Reaves, it’s just something you have to take a deep breath on and, you know, wonder what we’re doing back here is really fundamentally sound.”
The Lakers being able to win a game without all of their three best players shows that Redick is doing a good job of implementing a team-wide culture. Ayton mentions that by saying that his coach wants to play Laker basketball regardless of who’s on the floor.
Wins like Monday are a relatively drastic departure from the types of performances L.A. has given when stars are not on the floor in recent years. And according to Ayton, that’s about the fundamentals and culture that Redick set from the jump in preseason.
JJ Redick excited about Lakers’ potential
The Lakers mounted an improbable win on Monday night against the Trail Blazers. Nick Smith Jr., Marcus Smart and Bronny James were JJ Redick’s entire guard rotation on the second night of a back-to-back. It was widely viewed as the Lakers punting the game.
Instead, Smith scored 25 points off the bench, Rui Hachimura tallied 28 points and Deandre Ayton led the way with 29 and 10 rebounds en route to a 123-115 victory over Portland. It brings the Lakers to 6-2 on the season, despite not yet having James in the lineup and Doncic missing four of the eight games.
It speaks to the type of fight the Lakers appear to have this year, something that hasn’t necessarily been true of any Lakers team since 2020. That belief and energy is part of what Redick loves about this group so far 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!
