Former NBA player JJ Redick works out for ESPN at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on December 25, 2023. (Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers have officially named their next head coach, and he's a familiar face to Los Angeles basketball fans.
According to ESPN newsbreaker and former Redick colleague Adrian Wojnarowski, JJ Redick is in line to lead one of the league's most storied franchises in the 2024-25 season.
Redick has agreed to a four-year contract to coach the Lakers, Woj reported, adding that the former NBA 3-point shooting specialist and college basketball star is in the process of hiring a staff of experienced assistant coaches.
Redick has never coached in the NBA, having only retired in 2021 after playing 15 seasons in the NBA and has since been working behind the microphone producing podcasts and as part of ESPN's NBA commentary and gamecasting team.
He was part of ESPN's top broadcast team, which had just aired the NBA Finals game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Lakers' most hated rival, the eventual champion Boston Celtics.
Redick has made a name for himself as an up-and-coming NBA media voice, enjoying a string of successes, including a podcast he co-hosts with the team's emerging star player and most influential contributor, LeBron James.
Los Angeles residents may remember Redick from his four seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, during which he averaged nearly 16 points per game as one of the game's most dangerous three-point shooters.
Drafted out of Duke University in 2006, Redick had a stellar collegiate career, being named a two-time All-American and the Associated Press Player of the Year in 2005-06.
Redick will replace Darvin Ham, who was fired as the Lakers' head coach after a disappointing tenure with the Lakers, who led the Lakers to a 90-74 record in two seasons and one appearance in the Western Conference Finals in 2023.
But in 2024, the Lakers were eliminated in the first round.
