Deandre Ayton has gotten off to a surprisingly good start to life as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. There were plenty of concerns regarding Ayton coming into the 2025-26 season, and while he may not have dispelled all of them, he has played fairly well.
Ayton shone as the undermanned Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 123-115 at the Moda Center on Monday, and he showed some love to head coach JJ Redick afterward. The 27-year-old put up a post on Instagram with the caption, “Love Who Loves You,” and among the pictures was one of Redick coaching him in a game.
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There was a lot of talk before the season about Redick and Ayton perhaps not being a great fit. The former is as intense as coaches come, while the latter has often been criticized for his low motor. Redick losing his patience with a player like Ayton was seen as a possibility, but all is going well so far.
Ayton had 29 points (14-19 FG), 10 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks against the Trail Blazers, his former team. The Lakers seemed doomed entering the clash as they were without Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, but the big man stepped up in a big way.
Ayton is now averaging 16.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.4 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. That’s great production out of someone who is on a two-year, $16.6 million deal.
The Lakers had reportedly believed that Redick would get Ayton to outplay that contract, and he has so far. The key, though, is to ensure the Bahamian keeps up this level of effort and play over the course of the season.
Redick, who has only been an NBA head coach for just over a year now, would be backing himself to do just that. The 41-year-old would be right to believe in himself, too, as he has done a phenomenal coaching job thus far.
Redick led the Lakers to a 50-32 record last season, and they looked set to better it this time around. They improved to 6-2 this season by beating the Trail Blazers, and not many would have seen this coming with all the injuries.
James has yet to play for the Lakers this season, while Doncic has featured in four of the eight games. Most teams in the NBA would struggle when their two best players are missing time, but not this lot.
Ayton credited Redick for this Lakers team being able to cope with the absence of their stars. He has instilled a culture of professionalism, and the group trusts everything he tells them.
For Redick, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, to get to this point this early on in his coaching career is quite impressive. Many scoffed when it was reported that the Lakers believed he had the potential to be as influential as the legendary Pat Riley during their search for a new head coach in 2024.
It’s obviously way too early to say that Redick is now on that path, but the Lakers have hit the jackpot by hiring him. He isn’t perfect, but he ticks many of the boxes that you’d want a coach to.
Redick will now be looking to lead the Lakers to their fifth straight win when they take on the 5-1 San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday at 10 PM ET. This could well be the biggest test of the season so far for Redick and Ayton, as they need to figure out a way to slow down Victor Wembanyama.
