Pat Riley Breaks Silence on JJ Redick and Lakers' Direction

Oct 26, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick makes a call to the bench during the first quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

After the Los Angeles Lakers hired JJ Redick as the team’s new head coach before the start of last season, the storied franchise received a lot of criticism for the decision to bring in a first-time head coach with no coaching experience on any level.

The consensus seemed to be that the Lakers’ brass were appeasing superstar forward LeBron James, who hosted a podcast with Redick before accepting the job as the leader on the sideline for the 17-time NBA champions.

Pat Riley Has High Praise for Lakers Coach JJ Redick

Feb 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick watches game action against the Golden State Warriors during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On Sunday, ahead of the clash with the arch-rival Boston Celtics, legendary head coach Pat Riley had his bronze statue unveiled outside of Crypto.com Arena.

Following the unveiling, Riley spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the job Redick has done as head coach of the Lakers thus far.

“I love JJ,” Riley said. “I really do. My teams competed against him on various teams, and he played well. He’s a fiery guy, he could shoot the hell out of the ball and he was tough as nails. 

“Sometimes I look back, and I remember myself at that time, and I look at JJ, and I think they picked the right person. There’s just a quality about him, I think, that goes above and beyond, and they have a hell of a team for him right now with [Luka] Doncic and [Austin] Reaves and obviously with LeBron [James], so I think Rob [Pelinka] will continue along with the new ownership and build that team and compliment those players, but they have a great opportunity and I think JJ will be a great coach for them.”

JJ Redick Shares Thoughts on Pat Riley’s Legacy

Jun 1988; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley looks the the scoreboard as he huddles with his team against the Detroit Pistons during the 1988 NBA Finals at The Forum. Mandatory Credit: MPS-Imagn Images | MPS-Imagn Images

Ahead of the game against the Celtics, Redick was asked about Riley, who he’s been directly compared to during his short time as a head coach in the NBA.

“I think Pat, to me, sort of set the standard for a lot of NBA coaches,” Redick said of Riley. “I have always looked at the NBA in sort of two very distinct areas. You can sort of make the demarcation point either right at the merger or in 80-81, right around that time, when Dallas [Mavericks] joined as the 23rd team. That's sort of, to me, the beginning of the modern NBA. That's right when the Lakers' run of the league started shortly after, in 1980. Pat just set the standard for what a modern NBA coach should be.”

Although Redick has gotten comparisons to Riley early in his coaching career, he’s got a long way to go before being in the same conversation as the Lakers legend, as he helped set the standard for coaching in the NBA.