There are many reasons JJ Redick has been successful in his first season as a head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. Aside from being accepted by LeBron James and his team, Redick has brought a new persona with him to this organization, one where everyone respects what he has to say.

A lot of noise was made in the offseason about Redick only getting the Lakers head coaching job because of his partnership with James on his podcast, but that is not the case whatsoever. The Lakers identified Redick's special basketball mind and ability to capture the untapped potential of players. Most importantly, he earned everyone's respect because of how devoted he is to the game.

This resonated with James immediately, resulting in a strong bond with his head coach. It also resulted in LeBron calling Redick a “d**khead” but in a good way.

“He's just a podcaster that, for some odd reason, became a coach because of me! Nah, I think, one thing about JJ man, he breathes the game. And he breathes the game of basketball every single day,” James said during an interview on the Pat McAfee Show. “If we lose a game or we don't play up to par, there's no such thing as sleeping at night. There's no such thing as sleeping until the next match, until the next game.

“He's a d**khead, and I love it.”

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The best coaches in the NBA are the ones who can say anything to their team and relay harsh realities to them. Redick has done that this season with the Lakers, and as James states, he's been able to resonate with this team because of how much he cares about the game.

There is also another connection Redick and James share with one another because of LeBron's hatred for Duke, his head coach's alma mater.

“When I was a kid, I used to watch Duke. Now I realize, I hated Duke when I was growing up. Then when I got a little older and I started playing with Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski], I played with him for Team USA, I was like, ‘Okay, I see why he is great. I see why I hated JJ Redick. I see why I hated Shane Battier” LeBron admitted. “Then Shane came over to us in Miami and helped us win a championship. I was like, “I see it. These are like the greatest guys/d**kheads you'll ever meet.”

James even compared the way Mike Krzyzewski coach to Redick's style of coaching in the sense that his head coach is meant to be on the Lakers' sideline doing this.

Redick may not get enough credit from coaches around the league and the media as a whole, but he has LeBron's stamp of approval… even if James thinks he is a “d**khead” at times.