Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has proven that his track record as an NBA player is translating to his time on the sidelines.
In what is a surprise to many, the Lakers looked the part of a playoff team under Redick in his first two seasons at the helm. Redick’s even done well to take accountability for his own missteps, something that was sorely lacking from the regime.
Redick has got a great knack for relating to players due to his own experience in the league and he discussed some of the players he admired during his time on the court, notably two other great shooters in Ray Allen and Stephen Curry.
“Any player that comes in the NBA, you need to build out reference points,” Redick said. “Some people can come in with a low level, medium level, high level of confidence, people come in with a delusional level of confidence. Whatever that level of confidence is, you still have to build out your reference points. So it’s important, that growth is important for the feeling as a player of like oh, I can do this, I belong here.
“I believe in my former life I told this story on a podcast, but I only ever asked two players in my life, even before I was an NBA player, for an autograph or piece of memorabilia or something like that. The first was my rookie year, I asked Ray Allen the first time we played them. I was in a suit because I was not dressing, back when we wore suits and sat behind the bench. I asked him at halftime if I could send somebody over to their locker room to get a pair of shoes from him, which he obliged. And my last time playing against Steph, I said I’ve never asked you for anything, this might be my last time playing against you so do you mind signing a jersey? So there’s only two pieces of memorabilia that I requested. I did, however, get gifted a signed Luka jersey when I left Dallas. He like made me take the signed jersey, I’m not sure why. I love Luka but…”
When it came to picking a player he idolized, Redick highlighted Allen and his time with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I wanted to be Ray Allen, the Milwaukee Ray Allen. I wanted to be him when I was in high school. And when I started getting ranked in high school, you’d see your player profile and there was always a player comp and the player comp usually looked like me. And then there was one that said the player comp was Ray Allen and I was like this is the greatest day ever, this is awesome! And obviously Ray evolved and I never was as good as Ray Allen.
“Steph, for me, there’s so many things to get into with him. I would say the biggest thing is just his level of competitive joy. That was as appealing and sort of fascinating to me as whether or not he could make 3-pointers.”
Curry and Allen are two of the greatest shooters to ever play, so it makes sense that Redick would look up to them. However, Los Angeles’ head coach will now be looking to make an impact from the bench as the team looks to recapture its former glory.
Austin Reaves discusses relationship with JJ Redick
JJ Redick has already shown how obsessed he can be over the details of a game, which Austin Reaves related to when discussing his relationship with his coach.
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