Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is in the middle of his second season at the helm of the purple and gold. It’s also only his second season of coaching at any level, and he’s handling a playoff contender featuring superstar Luka Doncic, budding All-Star caliber Austin Reaves and one of the all-time great players in a 40-year-old LeBron James.
Balancing all of those things while still learning how to be a coach is certainly a difficult task. But Redick has handled it well, and has done well to make general manager Rob Pelinka look like he made a wise investment in plucking Redick away from ESPN.
In Year 2, Redick is still establishing exactly what type of culture he’s trying to set for the Lakers and is still perfecting his style of coaching. But LeBron, who has seen a significant number of elite head coaches over his 23 years in the NBA, sees similarities to some all-time greats in Redick, via Mind The Game with Steve Nash:
“You look at JJ’s career as a basketball player, all the way from high school, he’s been a winner his whole life. And he’s been taught the game the right way. It’s been no sugarcoating from the coaches that’s put him in the position that he’s in today. I had an opportunity to play for Coach K a couple times, and with Coach K, there’s no sugarcoating. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels if you’re not doing it right. But it’s going to be in a very stern but loving way, like it’s not how he says it, it’s about how you accept it. And if you take what he says or how he says it personal, then you’re going to lose sight of the messaging. And I think, with JJ, he’s kind of the same way. Right to the point, no sugarcoating, like listen this is how we want to play. And if I’m seeing possessions or I’m seeing things not up to our standard and what the coaching staff is putting out there, I’m going to show you my reaction. And it’s not to down you, it’s about helping you to understand what we’re trying to build long-term. And I can respect that, I love that. I mean, I come from the old school guy in Keith Dambrot, who was my first high school coach. If you was doing the three-man weave wrong he’d kick your ass out of practice.”
Redick is one of the most notable players to come out of Coach Mike Kryzyzewski’s Duke University program, and brought that style of play with him everywhere he went during his successful NBA career. So it stands to reason he’s doing the same as a head coach.
Coach K’s style was wildly successful in college, as he is one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball, and it even worked at the helm of Team USA men’s basketball leading James and other great superstars. But now, Redick is helping to bring that style to the regular NBA, and seems to also have some early success.
LeBron James focused on winning regardless of role
For the first time in his 23-year career, LeBron James appears to be taking a bit of a back seat. The Lakers got off to a great start without him this season with Luka Doncic playing like an MVP and Austin Reaves playing at an All-Star level.
When James returned after missing the first 14 games due to sciatica, he made it a point to fit in with what the Lakers were doing. He suggested that Doncic be introduced last in the Lakers’ starting lineup and in three games so far, LeBron is averaging just 17.7 points on 13.3 shot attempts, both career-lows, to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 8.7 assists.
James explained that at this stage of his career, he is only focused on helping the team win regardless of his role.
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