The Los Angeles Lakers will hire JJ Redick as their next head coach, handing him the job despite the former NBA guard having no coaching experience whatsoever. (More Sports News)
Redick was not the Lakers’ first choice after they were recently turned down by Dan Hurley, who led the University of Connecticut to its second straight NCAA Tournament title this past season.
Los Angeles will instead have the 39-year-old Redick - and LeBron James’ podcast partner - on the sidelines next season after the former Duke University star spent the last few years with ESPN following his retirement from the NBA in September 2021.
Redick and James started a podcast called “Mind the Game” in March, and Los Angeles hopes that relationship convinces James to exercise his $51.4million contract option this month and not become a free agent.
Redick takes over for Darvin Ham, who was fired in May after the Lakers went 47-35 before losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
Ham guided Los Angeles to the Western Conference finals in his first season as head coach in 2022-23. The Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA champion Nuggets.
The Orlando Magic selected Redick with the 11th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, and he went on to play 15 seasons in the league.
He is 20th all-time in NBA history with 1,950 made 3-pointers and ranks 15th in league history with a 41.5 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
