JJ Redick appears to be a frontrunner to secure the position as head coach for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. After being eliminated for the second year in a row by the Denver Nuggets in a one-sided manner, the Lakers decided that it was time to make a change in coaching and removed Darvin Ham as their head coach.
Although the Lakers are yet to confirm who their new head coach will be, the majority of reports on this subject indicate that JJ Redick will take over and look to lead the Lakers to an NBA championship. This would undoubtedly be an interesting development given Redick’s personal relationship with LeBron James. With that being said, let us take a closer look at their relationship and the impact it could have.
LeBron James and JJ Redick continue to host a podcast together
One could argue that bringing JJ Redick on as the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers is a double-edged sword. Redick is a former NBA star and has proven himself to be quite an intellectual individual with a high basketball IQ. However, he has no real experience coaching at an NBA level. Since the Lakers do not have much time left with LeBron James, it might not be the best move to experiment with an inexperienced head coach.
Lakers are “zeroing in” on JJ Redick as the frontrunner for franchise’s next HC, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/3kzaRUgE60
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 4, 2024
On the other hand, Redick has a personal relationship with LeBron. In fact, the two of them host a podcast together and discuss basketball in great detail. Since King James has a player option on his contract for the upcoming NBA season, the Lakers need to do all they can to please him in order to get him to stay with the team.
At this point in time, there is no way to know how LeBron feels about having Redick coach him. After all, there is a significant difference between being someone’s friend and having them coach one’s team. Some fans might also be wondering how things have gone between them during the years that they played against each other in the NBA.How many times have King James and JJ Redick faced off on the court?
While JJ Redick might be retired now, he is an NBA veteran and was in the league for 14 seasons. In that timespan, Redick played for several teams like the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers. Being in the NBA for many years led to him meeting LeBron James on the court 35 times.
King James has dominated Redick and his team for the majority of those matchups. LeBron holds a record of 24 wins and 11 losses against JJ including 5 wins in the playoffs. Therefore, one could claim that they have seen what the other is capable of doing. In any case, fans are left wondering if the Lakers will truly hire Redick and what he will be able to accomplish with the team.