Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Head Coach JJ Redick may have only one shot to win a Championship with the Lakers

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are in pursuit of a championship this season, and the Lakers fans need to thank head coach JJ Redick for this tremendous turn around, that too in his rookie season. Redick had never coached in the NBA nor collegiate level before, and the Lakers took a huge risking hiring a head coach who had no prior experience. This generated a lot of controversy amongst the NBA fans and analysts, as they questioned the Lakers’ front office for a mind boggling decision made at that time. However, Redick has worked his tail off to help the Lakers get out of the Play-In situation, and into the playoffs.

The Lakers finished the 2024-25 season as the 3rd seed in the Western Conference, only behind Oklahoma City, and Houston. They won 50 games this season, while losing 32, and have looked like a serious threat who could at least make the conference finals. The Lakers are set to take on Minnesota Timberwolves for the first round of the playoffs, and we’ll see who comes out on top.

What a debut season with the Lakers for JJ Redick 👏

Playoffs 🔜

(via @mcten) pic.twitter.com/X08kJlnwcu
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 12, 2025

Surprisingly enough, this season may be the only chance that coach Redick could win a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, and here is the reason why.

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Every Lakers Head Coach Has Either Won the Finals in Their First Year or Never at All

The Los Angeles Lakers one of the most iconic franchises, amongst any sport, in the world. They have won a total of 17 NBA championships, which is only behind the Boston Celtics who have 18 championships in their franchise history. They have always been able to attract some of the best talents from across the league to play for their team, whether it’s Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, or now Luka Doncic, the Lakers always somehow land a superstar to continue their prolonged success.

LAKERS PLAYOFF PATH SINCE 2020

2021: Play-in
2022: missed playoffs
2023: Play-in
2024: Play-in
2035: 3rd Seed

THE JJ REDICK EFFECT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KCv5ju9ccn
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) April 13, 2025

While the players are the most important for a franchise’s success, let us not forget about all the iconic coaches that have been with the Lakers. Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Bill Sharman, and many others were also a big reason why the Lakers won that many championships. However, what’s strange is the fact that all the Lakers’ head coaches have either lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy in their rookie seasons, or not at all. Here is the list of every coach who has won a championship with the Lakers in their first season;

John Kundla- Won 1948-1949 title.
Bill Sharman- Won 1971-1972 title.
Paul Westhead- Won 1979-1980 title
Pat Riley- Won 1981-82 title
Phil Jackson- Won 1999-2000 title
Frank Vogel- Won 2019-2020 title

Coach Redick Has Had an Incredible Season So Far With the Lakers

Coach Redick, in his first season with the L.A. Lakers, has been incredible season and here is what he has done so far going into the postseason;

Led the Lakers to a 50-win season
Helped the Lakers achieve the 3rd seed in the West
Adjusted through all of the trades that took place in the middle of the season (Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic trade).
Helped the Lakers out of the Play-In tournament for the first time ever
Won the Pacific division and the last rookie head coach to win the division was Pat Riley who also won the championship in the same season.

“JOB NOT DONE”

– JJ Redick has the Mamba Mentality 🐍 pic.twitter.com/rauxCEFqlX
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 12, 2025

While the championship expectation for the Los Angeles Lakers will not go away anytime soon, we believe that the 2024-2025 season may not be the year that they win a ring because the Lakers still do not have size in their lineup, and going against teams like OKC, Nuggets, and the Timberwolves could be bothersome as they have nobody to guard that position. Even if the Lakers end up winning the championship, we can all expect the Lakers to get aggressive in the offseason as they need to fill the Center and the power forward spots with some physically bigger players.

Also Read: Phoenix Suns Fired Head Coach Mike Budenholzer According to Multiple Sources

JJ Redick

Los Angeles Lakers

NBA

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.