Brian Windhorst believes that the LA mentor is considerably a Coach of the Year candidate, praising Redick for his leadership in the Lakers' season.
This 2025-26 season hasn't been a smooth one for the Los Angeles Lakers, but JJ Redick was great enough to lead the team's ongoing run.
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In the eyes of Brian Windhorst, the young Lakers mentor deserves plenty of credit for handling the pressure and leading the franchise to victories, claiming that Redick is a Coach of the Year candidate.
"I am enjoying what this Lakers team is doing. JJ Redick is doing a great job and is honestly a candidate for Coach of the Year," the ESPN expert said on Kaplan and Crew. "They are winning. ... It’s fascinating to watch this team transform. This reminds me of what Eric Spoelstra has done throughout his career—Miami Heat teams often looked very different in April than they did in November. Many of those teams finished 6th, 7th, or 8th, so it didn’t get much attention, but Spoelstra rolled up his sleeves and morphed his teams.
"That’s what JJ has been doing. He’s doing a really great job and demonstrating that he can be a very effective NBA coach."
After enduring struggles, injuries and inconsistencies from the start of the season, Redick has managed to lead the Lakers back in the competitive race at this critical final stage of the year.
Entering Wednesday's rematch against the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles is red-hot with a six-game win streak. The Lakers are occupying the third spot of the Western Conference standings with a 43-25 record.
Behind Redick's guidance, Luka Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring with 32.9 points as one of the MVP candidates, Austin Reaves is now an All-Star talent, while LeBron James has fully bought in on being the third star of the franchise.
The rest of the Lakers' supporting cast has embraced their roles, most importantly Deandre Ayton. Marcus Smart has been the team's defensive heart, and the two of Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard are LA's main scoring punch off the bench.
The Lakers are trending in the right direction with less than a month left in the regular season, and Redick definitely did a good job of managing the group in the wake of a year filled with ups and downs.
Should Redick clinch the Coach of the Year award, he will become the first Lakers playcaller since Dell Harris (1994-95) to win the honors.
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