The Lakers have reportedly hired JJ Redick as their next head coach.
The news that Redick was the favorite for the job has been hanging on the wall for weeks. Los Angeles parted ways with former head coach Darvin Ham after their first-round exit to the Nuggets and Redick’s name began to come up soon after.
Although Redick has no prior NBA coaching experience, he has done a fantastic job promoting his basketball knowledge. Following his 15-year NBA playing career, Redick showcased his love for the game through his podcast “The Old Man and the Three” and his work as an analyst for ESPN.
More recently, Redick piqued the interest of the NBA world when he started a new podcast, “Mind the Game,” co-hosted with Lakers star LeBron James. James has been in the media spotlight since before he entered the NBA when he was a teenager, but he never had his own podcast.
With Los Angeles hiring Redick, James’ decision to retroactively start a show with his future head coach raised eyebrows.
LAKERS HIRE JJ REDICK
- Contract details
- Is Redick the right person for Los Angeles?
- Inside Redick’s ‘Pat Riley-type’ potential
- How Redick will change the Lakers
- Redick joins Coach K’s growing coaching tree
JJ Redick and LeBron James connection, explained
Redick and James don’t have an extensive documented history as friends before the “Mind the Game” podcast, but from the first episode, it was evident that they had chemistry. The two basketball minds drink wine and talk in depth about the game they love.
“I want to be clear here. This is a basketball show. It’s a show with the intent and purpose of celebrating the game, promoting the game, explaining the game,” Redick. said in the introduction to the show.
“LeBron and I are two people who, I would say, are ‘obsessed’ with basketball, with this sport that has given us so much.”
The podcast, produced by LeBron and Maverick Carter’s athlete empowerment brand, “Uninterrupted,” has produced nine episodes so far on an almost weekly basis.
Rumors about the Redick-Lakers head coach began to surface before the seventh inning. James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, made a statement that his client and the program had nothing to do with Redick’s potential hiring.
“LeBron is not involved…This is a Lakers decision.” Paul told Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes in an exclusive interview on May 24.
“JJ is a friend. We respect JJ. I know LeBron and JJ have the podcast… But just because they have a podcast, the Lakers have to make a decision for now and for the future. And whatever that decision is, that that’s all”. It will be an organizational decision. It’s as simple as that”.
Did LeBron James play with JJ Redick?
James and Redick overlapped a lot as opponents in the NBA, but the two were never teammates. They faced each other 30 times in the regular season and had two playoff series. against each other throughout their careers.
James has a 19-11 record in the regular season against his new head coach. He averaged 27.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.0 assists in those games.
Redick averaged 13.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists against James’ teams.
Redick’s Magic defeated James’ Cavaliers in six games in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, but Redick only played in one game as a third-year player. James got revenge in the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs when his Heat swept Redick’s Bucks.
Now, the former opponents and podcast co-hosts will join forces in Los Angeles as star players and coaches.
