Here’s the story, at least as Rui Hachimura tells it. When JJ Redick was hired as Los Angeles Lakers coach last June, he had a goal: 50 wins. Third seed. It seemed improbable. Back then, expectations, at least externally, were modest. Los Angeles won 47 games the season before, good enough to make the playoffs, not enough to win more than one game in the first round. Oddsmakers pegged this season’s win total around 44. LeBron James was pushing 40, Anthony Davis had a history of injuries and the supporting cast that helped push the Lakers to the conference finals in 2023 had flopped a year later. Redick looked the part of head coach, a well-spoken, well-dressed, well-coiffed ex-player turned podcaster, but few expected a new coach—L.A.’s third in two years—to make a measurable difference.
Yet last week, inside a water-soaked locker room, the Lakers proved Redick prescient: 50 wins. Third seed. “It’s a cool moment to share,” Redick said. “But we want more.”
