Coach K Reveals Text to JJ Redick Joking About Coaching Defense with Lakers

Even former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski sounds a little surprised with how well the Los Angeles Lakers have performed on defense with JJ Redick, one of his former players, at the helm.

"I reached out to him and said, 'Who the hell would've predicted you could teach defense?'" Krzyzewski said to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

It's true defense wasn't Redick's forte as a player. He built his reputation on being a scorer and consistent three-point threat.

The general skepticism toward the Lakers' defense was more about their personnel rather than the coach. They ranked 12th and 17th in defensive rating, per NBA.com, in Darvin Ham's two years. LeBron James isn't getting any younger, and there aren't many on the team you'd consider to be a plus defender individually.

Seventeenth is also where L.A. finished for the 2024-25 season, but this is a case where the raw numbers don't tell the full story.

Finishing in the middle of the pack is impressive when the Lakers gave up an elite rim protector, Anthony Davis, at the trade deadline for Luka Dončić, a star whose defensive flaws are routinely exploited.

Los Angeles has been better than the sum of its parts on defense, and a lot has to do with the scheme Redick and his staff drew up.

"What they're doing seems very simple, but it's actually a lot of preparation," Krzyzewski said to Shelburne. "They make it where the other team's lower-percentage shooters are taking more shots."

Now, the general narrative will shift a bit if the Lakers are toasted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round or their defense is clearly not at the required level later in the playoffs.

To this point, though, Redick has managed to answer a lot of the people who thought he'd be in way over his head in his first coaching job.