The excitement was palpable at the Los Angeles Lakers practice facility in El Segundo on Monday afternoon. The 29th head coach in Lakers franchise history was about to step to the podium for his first press conference as the new Lakers boss. However, the excitement was not just about who it was, but how he would answer questions, specifically the elephant in the room.
“I have never coached in the NBA before,” said Redick smiling, addressing that very elephant within minutes of taking the microphone. “I don’t know if you guys have heard that.”
It’s true. Redick has never coached at any level except his eight-year-old son’s youth team. But, the 15-year NBA veteran, known for his sharpshooting skills and basketball acumen on the court, will take the experience and communication skills he’s learned as a podcaster, analyst, and broadcaster with him in his role as a head coach. Many of those skills are invaluable and all of it is experience. It might not be head coaching experience, but it’s NBA experience nonetheless.
NBC LA was in attendance for Redick’s press conference on Monday afternoon and here are the five key takeaways from his debut appearance with the purple and gold.
1. A Coaching Philosophy Rooted in Experience
As earlier mentioned, Redick’s coaching approach is deeply influenced by his extensive playing career. He emphasized player development, teamwork, and a high basketball IQ as the cornerstones of his strategy. Drawing from his years on the court, Redick plans to foster a culture of competition, where each player understands their role and contributes to the team’s collective success.
“I have zero coaching experience in the NBA, but I would argue that I’m very experienced,” Redick stated with conviction. “It started 22 years ago when I went to Duke and I got to play for Coach K for four years. Then I spent 15 years as a player, and honestly, the last three years have been invaluable in preparing me for this moment, being able to connect to players, 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.”