The Lakers have reportedly hired JJ Redick as their next head coach.
The writing that Redick was the frontrunner for the job has been on the wall for weeks. Los Angeles parted ways with former head coach Darvin Ham after its first-round exit to the Nuggets and Redick’s name started to bubble up shortly after.
Even though Redick has no previous NBA coaching experience, he has done a fantastic job marketing his basketball knowledge. Following his 15-year career as an NBA player, Redick projected his love for the game through his “The Old Man and the Three” podcast and his job 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 as a teenager, but he never had his own podcast.
With Los Angeles hiring Redick, James’ decision to start a show with his future head coach retroactively raised some eyebrows.
LAKERS HIRE JJ REDICK
JJ Redick and LeBron James connection, explained
Redick and James don’t have an extensive documented history as friends prior to the “Mind the Game” podcast, but from the first episode, it was evident they had chemistry. The two basketball minds sip wine and talk in-depth about the game they love.
“I want to be clear here. This is a basketball show. This is a show with the intention and purpose to celebrate the game, promote the game, explain the game,” Redick said in the introduction to the show.
“LeBron and I are two people who, I would call us ‘obsessed’ with the game of basketball, with this sport that has given so much to us.”
The podcast, which is produced by LeBron and Maverick Carter’s athlete empowerment brand “Uninterrupted,” has produced nine episodes so far on a near-weekly basis.
The Redick-Lakers head coaching rumors started to pop up before the seventh episode. James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, made a statement that his client and the show 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 later. And whatever that decision is, that’ll be an organizational decision. It’s as simple as that.”
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Did LeBron James play with JJ Redick?
James and Redick had plenty of overlap as opponents in the NBA, but the two were never teammates. They faced off 30 times in the regular season and had two playoff series against each other throughout their careers.
James owns 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 player and coach.