JJ Redick: Duke Sharpshooter, Podcaster and the Lakers Coach Who Won't Make That Mistake Again

So JJ Redick is trending in Ghana, and it is because of what he said after the Lakers nearly threw away a big lead against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. The Lakers won 131-125 in the end, but Redick was not happy at all, and his words about his bench players have been all over sports news since. A lot of younger fans know him only as the Lakers coach, so let me go back a bit.

Quick facts

Full name: Jonathan Clay Redick
Known as: JJ Redick
Born: 24 June 1984
Job: Head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
College: Duke University
NBA teams as a player: Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, LA Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks
Known for: Three-point shooting, podcasting, TV analysis

Duke

He grew up in Roanoke, Virginia, and was a McDonald’s All-American in high school. Then he went to Duke and became one of the most famous college players in America.

He could shoot, that was his thing. He set the NCAA record for three-pointers when he left, 457 of them, became Duke’s all-time top scorer, and broke the ACC scoring record. In 2006 he won the big national player of the year awards, including the Naismith. Duke retired his number 4 shirt in 2007.

Honestly though, he was also the player opposing fans loved to hate back then. Being the face of Duke basketball came with a lot of noise.

The NBA years

Orlando picked him 11th in the 2006 draft. The first seasons were hard. Scouts said he was not quick enough and could not defend, and for a while he barely played. He once said he expected to be a role player, not a star. But he kept working and by 2009 he was in the rotation for the Magic team that reached the NBA Finals.

He then had a short spell in Milwaukee before moving to the Clippers in 2013, and that is where he really became a starter. In 2016 he scored a career high 40 points against Houston and led the NBA in three-point percentage that season.

After that came Philadelphia, where he signed a one-year deal worth 23 million dollars in 2017 and stayed two seasons, then New Orleans, and finally Dallas. He retired in September 2021 after 15 seasons, known as one of the best shooters of his generation.

What people forget is how hard he worked on his body. Because of the scouting reports, he basically rebuilt himself to keep up physically, and he became known for running defenders through screen after screen until he got a clean look. That constant movement is a big reason he lasted 15 years.

The podcast and TV

This is the part that surprised people. While he was still playing, in 2016, he started his own podcast. He was the first active NBA player to do that. Later he started his own media company, ThreeFourTwo Productions, named after the 342 shots he used to take every Sunday in the off-season. His show was called The Old Man and the Three.

After retiring he joined ESPN as an analyst, and by 2024 he was on the main NBA commentary team. In March 2024 he and LeBron James started a podcast together called Mind the Game, where they just broke down basketball.

Lakers coach with no experience

In June 2024 the Lakers named him head coach. A lot of people laughed at it because he had never coached at any level, except a team of fourth graders at a Brooklyn basketball academy where his son played.

Well. His first season, the Lakers won 50 games and finished third in the West. Last season they won 50 again, the first Lakers coach to do back to back 50 win seasons since Phil Jackson. He got his 100th win as a coach on 1 April 2026, and then won his first playoff series, beating Houston in six games. He signed a contract extension with the Lakers in September 2025.

Career timeline

1984: Born
2002 to 2006: Plays at Duke
2006: Drafted 11th by the Orlando Magic
2013: Joins the LA Clippers
2016: Starts his podcast while still playing
2021: Retires after 15 NBA seasons
2021 to 2024: ESPN analyst
2024: Becomes Lakers head coach
2026: Back to back 50 win seasons and first playoff series win

What happened against Toronto

So back to Sunday. The Lakers were up by 22 going into the fourth quarter, with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves doing the damage and Walker Kessler strong inside. With the score 124-109 and under two minutes left, Redick took his starters off and put the bench in, which is normal.

Then Toronto pressed full court and the lead started disappearing fast, and he had to send the starters back on to close it out. After the game he said, “I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll leave the guys in. You gotta play to the final buzzer, and if guys are not ready to play, then I just won’t put them in.”

He was also annoyed with the referees. He said Toronto were fouling on almost every possession and it was not being called, and that a few of the Lakers turnovers came from that.

So now people are watching to see what he does with his bench, especially young guards like Bronny James who were on the floor during that late run. That is Redick though. He was a player who had to fight for every minute, and he expects the same from his own players.