LeBron James has played for some of the most demanding coaches in basketball history, so when he talks about coaching culture, he knows exactly what it looks like. On the latest episode of Mind the Game, James broke down why JJ Redick has earned full respect inside the Lakers locker room and why his no-nonsense style feels so familiar to him.
When Steve Nash asked what defines Redick’s culture, LeBron pointed straight to one thing: honesty without shortcuts.
“You look at JJ’s career as a basketball player all the way from high school, you know, and he’s been a winner his whole life, you know, and he’s been taught the game the right way and it’s been no sugarcoating with the coaches that’s put him in a position that he is in today.”
“I had an opportunity to play for Coach K a couple of times, and Coach K, there’s no sugarcoating. He’s gonna tell you exactly how we feel if you’re not doing it right, but it’s gonna be in a very stern but loving way. It’s not how he says it, it’s about how you accept it.”
“If you take what he says or how he says it personal, then you’re gonna lose sight of the messaging. I think with JJ it’s kind of the same way.”
“He’s right to the point, no sugarcoating it. Listen, this is how we want to play, this is how we want to play. And if I’m seeing possessions or I’m seeing things not up to our standard and what the coaching staff is putting out there, I’m gonna show you my reaction, and it’s not to down you, it’s about you understanding what we’re trying to build long term, and I can respect that.”
“I mean, I love that. I come from the old school, you know, Keith Dambrot, who was my first high school coach, who, s**t, like if you was doing the three-man weave wrong, he’d kick your ass out of practice.”
That’s what makes Redick’s rise in Los Angeles so striking. He arrived with more questions than believers. He had never coached at any level. Many assumed he got the job only because LeBron trusted him. He was viewed as another experiment by a franchise that had already cycled through multiple coaches in the last decade.
A year later, all the doubts look outdated.
Redick won 50 games in his first season and finished third in the West. Even though the Lakers were exposed by Minnesota in the first round, the identity he established didn’t disappear. This season, the team has taken another step.
At 13-4, they sit second in the West and look more stable than they have in years. The fit between Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron works far better than anyone predicted, and Redick deserves a lot of that credit. He is already considered one of the early contenders for Coach of the Year.
The numbers say the Lakers are an average team: 9th in offensive rating, 16th in defensive rating, 14th in net rating. But their record doesn’t match those rankings, and that’s often the best sign of coaching impact. Redick’s offensive sets are creative and difficult to scout. His rotations, while occasionally rigid, have given the Lakers structure. Most of all, the players know exactly where they stand.
And, as LeBron mentioned, Redick doesn’t hesitate to hold anyone accountable. Fans have already seen him bark at Bronny James for passing up an open shot. They saw him light into the team after getting blown out by the Thunder, leaving the press conference early because he was so irritated. He coaches hard because he believes his team can be better, and veterans like LeBron respond to that.
James made it clear he comes from ‘the old school,’ where a mistake in a simple drill could get a player thrown out of practice. Redick taps into that same standard, and the Laker stars have embraced it.
No shortcuts. No softness. No sugarcoating.
That’s why JJ Redick’s voice carries weight in Los Angeles and why LeBron is publicly backing the culture he’s building.
