After one year in charge of the Lakers, JJ Redick knows he can improve moving forward.
There was skepticism that JJ Redick, as a first-time coach, could handle being in charge of the Lakers.
However, he proved his biggest skeptics wrong by winning 50 games and securing a guaranteed playoff spot for the Lakers for the first time since 2020.
And then the postseason happened.
Not only were the Lakers beaten in five games by the Wolves, but Redick made some puzzling decisions.
He made zero substitutions during the second half of a pivotal Game 4 and then played small ball too little, too late in Game 5.
After the final loss against the Wolves, Redick spoke about his season and the growth he can still have as a coach.
“I’ll use my own thoughts to evaluate myself and I’ll use what my players say and what my coaching staff says to evaluate,” Redick said. “But I know I can be better and I know I will get better. I don’t necessarily take any satisfaction from how the year went.
“That’s not to say I’m not proud of what the group was able to do and how we were able to figure things out on the fly and put ourselves in a position to have home court in the first round, but there’s always ways to get better and I can get a lot better.”
Overall, Redick had a great year, but it’s hard to win postseason games. A combination of Minnesota’s better performance, a couple of injuries to L.A. players and some coaching miscues resulted in an early exit.
LeBron James was asked about Redick and showered him with praise.
“I think JJ is going to continue to grow,” James said. “I thought he had a hell of a rookie campaign for a rookie coach. It’s already hard being a rookie coach in the NBA and it’s a hell of a lot harder being a rookie head coach coaching the Lakers. It’s a whole ‘nother ball game.
“I thought he handled it extremely well. He just learned every single day, held us accountable. He pushed us. I thought JJ and his coaching staff were great throughout the whole season.”
Players grow with time and experience and the same can be said for coaches. Redick will only get better from here on out. LeBron has clearly been a Redick fan for a while now and it’s good to hear his respect for him remains high even after ending the season on a low.
While it might not matter to Redick as much, NBA voters also agree he had a strong rookie campaign as head coach. He finished sixth in Coach of the Year voting.
If Redick continues to improve, it won’t be the last time he’s in the running for this award.
The ending might’ve been sour, but overall, it was a good season for Redick. Lakers fans should feel secure knowing he is in charge and will do everything possible to bring another title to the franchise.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.