First year head coach JJ Redick is having a good season with the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most winningest franchises in the NBA.
Redick, who was working as an NBA analyst for ESPN before getting the opportunity to coach LeBron James and the rest of the Lakers, has shown leadership skills that shows great promise for his coaching career.
The Los Angeles team is currently in 4th place of the Western Conference, above young and talented teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves, but below contenders like the Denver Nuggets, the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
JJ Redicks’ family challenges to adapt to LA
But the first couple of months were not easy for JJ Redick and his familiy, which includes his wife, Chelsea Kilgore, and their two sons, Knox and Kai. The Redicks lived in Brooklyn, New York, where they were already settled, before moving to the other side of the country in Los Angeles.
That was a big concern at first for Jeanie Buss, owner and president of the Lakers. And the challenges got bigger after the Redick family lost their house in the California wildfires, which could have been the nail in the coffin for them and their life in LA.
“I was worried that his wife was going to say, ‘Okay, I’m out, I’m done, this was not meant to be,'” she admitted. But instead of treating the wildfire as a sign to leave California, the Redick family made a decision: they were staying. “But instead, it’s like they realize, you know, they want to be part of rebuilding the community,” Buss said.
That’s how the Redicks embraced their place within the Lakers family. For Buss, this moment reinforced everything she already knew about Redick. He wasn’t just a great basketball mind; he was someone who could lead through adversity.
Austin Reaves steps up to the challenge of leading the Lakers
All-Star LeBron James missed his fifth straight game Monday night because of a groin injury, but balanced scoring is keeping the franchise competitive amid a brutal stretch of 20 games in five weeks that can put a dent on their record and hurt their place on the Western Conference.
With James sidelined, guard Austin Reaves has scored at least 28 points in four consecutive games. He only reached 28 points four times in the Lakers’ first 63 games this season. He scored 30 points against the San Antonio Spurs Monday night.
“He has a bold mentality. He has to be allowed to take his spaces. I think when he’s played the right way, which is taking responsibility for his role of being the primary setter on the team and taking the right shots and making the right passes (…), I think he’s done it at an All-Star level,” Redick stated about Reaves’ level.
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