By Shawn Nowlin
The 29th head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers is a familiar face to Roanoke residents. Jonathan “J.J.” Redick is on a very short list of athletes who legitimately are in the discussion for the best basketball player to ever come out of the Star City.
Redick ended his senior year ranked as the nation’s No. 13 recruit in 2022. His 43 points, a school record at the time, led the Cave Spring High Knights to the Class AAA state championship over George Wythe High School in Richmond.
In the prestigious annual McDonald’s All-American Game that year, he won MVP honors over future superstars Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony.
During his four-year career at Duke University, Redick compiled arguably a top ten college resume of all-time: Consensus National Player of the Year (2006), 2× Consensus First-Team All-American (2005, 2006), Anthony J. McKelvin Award (2006) and NCAA free-throw record holder, just to name few of the accomplishments.
Drafted with the 11th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Redick spent 15 seasons in the NBA – six with the Orlando Magic, one with the Milwaukee Bucks, three with the Los Angeles Clippers, two with the Philadelphia 76ers and two with the New Orleans Pelicans before finishing his career in 2021 as a Dallas Maverick.
Redick made the NBA playoffs every year, something only a certain percentage of players can say in the league’s 78-year history.
Future Hall of Famers Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Blake Griffith, Joel Embiid, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, Jrue Holiday and Paul Pierce – all former teammates of Redick – praised his basketball acumen and professionalism.
At every level, Redick competed for a national title. In the 2004 NCAA Title Game against eventual champion UCONN, Redick scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds. Five years later as a member of the Magic in the NBA Finals, he averaged five points in 15 minutes of playing time.
In sports especially, the relationships people cultivate behind the scenes are everything.
Redick, 40, was one of the first active professional athletes to host a daily podcast. “Mind the Game,” one of his current podcasts, is co-hosted by LeBron James.
Since Phil Jackson, who guided the Lakers to five titles in 13 years, was fired in 2012, the Lakers have had seven head coaches. After firing Darvin Ham who went 164-90 over the last two years, LA turned to Redick to right its once-storied program.
While there is no way Redick would have gotten the job without James’ approval, there is a strong belief that he will be able to maximize the talent on the roster next year by implementing a high-octane offense and utilizing different defensive schemes.
After UCONN’s Dan Hurley turned down the job for a reported $70 million over six years, many believed the job was Redick’s to lose. His deal is north of $30 million over four years.
During his press conference that aired nationally, Redick noted, “I have zero coaching experience in the NBA, but I would argue that I’m very experienced. It started 22 years ago when I went to Duke and played for Coach K. Then I spent 15 years as a player, being able to connect with others, talking to them on the podcast, being in coaching interviews with ESPN, calling games, analyzing the game in three different formats, all of that has helped prepare me to be an NBA head coach.”
Only time will tell if the Lakers made the right decision by hiring Redick. Roanoke native Kirk Williams believes he will end up exceeding all reasonable expectations.
“I’ve seen a lot of local high school basketball over the years,” he said. “Objectively speaking, J.J. is the best. Even as a player, he displayed the attributes of a good coach. It’s going to be fun to see how this plays out.”
