Despite being favored by many experts to make it to the next round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers have seen their season come to a premature end after suffering a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round matchup. This was not what the Lakers envisioned for themselves when they pulled off the blockbuster trade that allowed them to pair LeBron James with Luka Doncic.

Being a member of the Lakers organization comes with it a certain amount of pressure to deliver; the Purple and Gold have been one of the winningest teams in the history of the association, and the expectation, year-in, year-out, is for them to at least make a deep playoff run, especially when they have two of the best players in the league. And head coach JJ Redick, who is in his first year on the job, is certainly feeling the weight of those expectations now that the walls have begun crumbling down.

Regardless, Redick got a major endorsement from James despite their playoff exit at the hands of the Timberwolves, which means a lot regarding the first-year coach's job security with the Lakers.

“Whatever happens; JJ (Redick) is going to continue to grow. He had a hell of a campaign for a rookie coach… That’s one thing for sure that we know — a great up and coming coach that will be great for many years,” James said in his postgame presser, via Brett Siegel, NBA insider for ClutchPoints.

Redick is one of the most tactically-astute coaches in the league who managed to squeeze every last drop out of the roster he was given, but at the end of the day, the Lakers squad simply had too many flaws to overcome that in the end, they came up short.

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JJ Redick can hold his head high as first year as Lakers head coach comes to an end

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts to his team losing the lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the fourth quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

JJ Redick had to weather so much uncertainty for the Lakers this past season that it was incredible that he got them playing at a good enough level all season long en route to tallying 50 regular-season wins. Redick had to adjust on the fly in the aftermath of the Luka Doncic trade, and he did so by creatively setting up his defense to mask the glaring deficiency that is their lack of rim protection.

Redick will also learn from this humbling playoff experience, and it certainly means a lot to have the backing of LeBron James, one of the smartest players the league has ever seen.