JJ Redick breaks down what truly matters in his first season as Lakers head coach

In his first season at the helm of the prestigious Los Angeles Lakers, JJ Redick has led the franchise to impressive regular-season success. Securing third place in a highly competitive Western Conference, the former NBA sharpshooter turned Lakers head coach has exceeded expectations. Yet, Redick remains cautious when it comes to evaluating his own performance, asserting that it’s too soon to define success based solely on regular-season achievements.

The Lakers clinched the Pacific Division title and the No. 3 seed with a commanding 140–109 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday night. The blowout came against a Rockets team that had already locked in the second seed and was returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Despite the significance of the win, Redick made it clear that the ultimate goal still lies ahead. “It’s not done,” Redick stated postgame, after Lakers reporter asked: “How would you say your first season went?”

Redick emphasizes playoff pressure

Speaking to reporters, Redick acknowledged that the biggest tests of his coaching acumen are still to come, particularly under the heightened scrutiny and strategic demands of playoff basketball.

“I spent all of three and a half minutes on the flight back from Dallas just thinking about making the playoffs and about the coaching profession,” Redick said. “As a coach, you’re obviously judged on regular season wins and losses and your ability to get to the playoffs, but I think the other two things you’re judged on are the way you handle the pressure of the playoffs—the adjustments, the in-game stuff. There’s still so much work we have to do—myself and our staff.”

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In addition to postseason performance, Redick emphasized a broader, long-term metric for success: the culture he is building within the Lakers organization. “I think you’re also judged on the culture you create, and whether your players and everyone else in the building likes coming to work,” he concluded.