Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick expressed strong enthusiasm for his second year on the sidelines during a Sept. 25, 2025 press conference at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo, California. “Lots of excitement, excited to start the season,” Redick said while standing alongside vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka. “The fun part about this is the chaos and the challenge of every single game, every single day trying to problem-solve and get buy-in.”
Redick returns after a successful debut campaign and will open the 2025-26 schedule against the Golden State Warriors, another Western Conference contender aiming to establish early momentum.
Roster Adjustments Out of the Gate
The Lakers begin the season without LeBron James, who is sidelined to start the year. Redick intends to lean on a reshaped rotation headlined by a “healthy and motivated” Luka Doncic, who enters the season as an early Most Valuable Player candidate. Austin Reaves is expected to expand his role, while newcomers Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia are slated for significant minutes.
Defensive Emphasis Without a True Stopper
During a separate sit-down with ESPN analyst Tim Legler, Redick acknowledged the club lacks a traditional lockdown defender and will rely on collective schemes. He emphasized communication, rotations, and versatility as keys to containing opponents across an 82-game grind in a deep Western Conference.
“It’s great,” Redick said of the upcoming journey. “I’m looking forward to a challenging, chaotic, fun, all of the things that happen during an 82-game season.”
The Lakers tip off the new campaign later this week in San Francisco, where Redick will begin testing the habits he spent training camp trying to instill.
Source: LakersNation.com
