SACRAMENTO, CA ― It seems like yesterday that JJ Redick was a rookie head coach in the NBA with no previous coaching experience. It was the talk of the town. It seemed almost inconceivable that a former podcaster could simply join an NBA sideline and be as successful.
Redick always accepted the challenge as just that, a challenge. He was a former player who worked meticulously to be the best version of himself. He was always willing to outwork his competition, and he has taken that same approach into coaching.
It's helped him grow in the position as he enters his third season as the Los Angeles Lakers coach.
"I'm somebody who self-critiques and somebody who self-possesses," Redick told USA TODAY Sports before the Lakers' preseason win against the Sacramento
Kings on Monday, Oct. 5. "I think that there's a term for, like, metacognitive, I think it's called, where you think about your thinking. So there's a lot going on in my brain."
Redick, 42, is a deep and meticulous thinker. " His brain doesn't stop; even when you think he's in a relaxation mode, Redick is on. It's actually what has made him a better coach. He's always wired, thinking about how he can be better.
"And so when that happens, like, you're constantly living this in this world of, like, honesty with self," Redick told USA TODAY Sports. "That could be an interaction with the player, that could be how you handled emotional regulation with a referee. That could be how you communicated something, game plan wise (during) pre game. That could be how you run a practice, like, literally, like, your brain is just constantly assessing all of those things. And so, I think I've grown in all those areas."
The 2026-27 season will present a different challenge to the Lakers coach – his first without four-time NBA champion LeBron James. The offense will now flow through MVP candidate Luka Dončić as the the Lakers adopt a new identity.
But Redick is excited as he continues to endeavor on his coaching journey and the process of becoming great.
"That's the really fun part about this, for me, is, you know, it's no different than shooting a basketball, right? It's the pursuit of mastery," he said. "(I'm) never gonna master coaching cause it's an adaptive, evolving thing, but it's something different every day."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JJ Redick reflects on growth in third year as Lakers head coach
