Lakers agree to hire JJ Redick, LeBron James’s podcast partner, as head coach

While Redick quickly emerged as a top candidate for the job, the Lakers also pursued Dan Hurley, who turned down a $70 million offer this month and remained at the University of Connecticut. Redick, 39, has no previous coaching experience at the high school, collegiate or professional level, though the 15-year veteran served as an ABC color commentator during the NBA Finals and launched an X’s and O’s basketball podcast with Lakers star LeBron James in March.

By accepting the league’s highest-profile coaching job, Redick will face constant championship expectations while managing the final chapter of James’s Hall of Fame career. Scrutiny is nothing new for Redick, a high school all-American shooting guard who became a household name during his four seasons at Duke from 2002 to 2006. A 2006 lottery pick, Redick played for the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks before retiring in 2021 with career averages of 12.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Known primarily for his three-point marksmanship as a player, Redick became one of the first active professional athletes with a podcast when he began hosting one in 2016. His “The Old Man and the Three” podcast has garnered significant attention since its 2020 premiere, and the debut episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with James has been viewed nearly 4 million times on YouTube.

Redick is inheriting a job that has seen significant turnover since Phil Jackson’s 2012 departure: Mike Brown, Mike D’Antoni, Byron Scott, Luke Walton, Frank Vogel and Ham have all served as Lakers coach, yet none lasted longer than three seasons. Vogel was fired less than two years after leading the Lakers to the 2020 title, and Ham was let go less than a year after guiding an unexpected trip to the 2023 Western Conference finals.

In addition to that instability, Redick must manage the perception that he wasn’t the Lakers’ first choice and create a healthy distance between himself and James. Udonis Haslem, a former teammate of James’s on the Miami Heat, said last month that Redick would be met with a “cynical locker room of guys that are going to side-eye everything JJ says” given his working relationship with the Lakers’ star. Like former Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash, Redick will also need to prove he can handle superstar personalities and make sound in-game adjustments despite his lack of previous coaching experience.

The Lakers, who finished 47-35 last season before losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, must re-sign James, who is on track to become a free agent this summer. The 39-year-old forward, who was named to the all-NBA third team last season, was noncommittal in April when asked about his future with the Lakers. If James remains in Los Angeles and continues his partnership with all-star center Anthony Davis, the Lakers would be in position to return the bulk of their playing rotation. Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt are all under contract for next season.