Los Angeles Lakers Media Day is set to take place on Monday, Sept. 29, signaling the beginning of the 2025-26 season. But before that goes down, head coach JJ Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka will address the media on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 1:30 p.m. PT.
While Pelinka has been out in the media recently and even flew out to support Lakers superstar Luka Doncic as he played at FIBA EuroBasket 2025, Redick really hasn’t spoken too much since the franchise built out its roster. So it will be great to get an idea of what the Lakers coach sees in this team and his expectations for the upcoming season.
The Lakers finished an impressive third in the Western Conference a season ago but were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The West is expected to be even tougher this season, so how Redick will navigate this minefield of a conference will be interesting to say the least.
There was a lot going on for the Lakers this offseason as the franchise signed Luka Doncic to a max contract extension, ensuring he will remain with the franchise for the foreseeable future. This will also be Doncic’s first full season with the franchise and expectations are high following the guard’s physical transformation and his outstanding performance for Slovenia at EuroBasket.
There are also a lot of questions surrounding LeBron James as the all-time great enters the final year of his contract. His future with the franchise is unclear so Pelinka will almost surely face some questions about that, as will Redick as far as LeBron’s role and how he plans to utilize him on both sides of the ball, not to mention potential load management in his 23rd NBA season.
When it comes to the roster itself, the Lakers made some key additions, particularly in the middle with the signing of center Deandre Ayton. The team also added guard Marcus Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year, as well as two-way wing Jake LaRavia who holds some intriguing potential as well. How Redick views them and sees them contributing to the team will be of note.
Of course, there’s also questions about how Redick will construct his starting lineup, and whether Austin Reaves or Rui Hachimura may be moved to the bench as well as the development of second-year players Dalton Knecht and Bronny James.
Where to watch Rob Pelinka & JJ Redick’s Lakers pre-Media Day press conference
Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick’s press conference will be broadcasted live on the Lakers’ YouTube page as well as Spectrum SportsNet at 1:30 p.m. PT on Thursday.
The Lakers Nation YouTube page will have live coverage as well.
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