The Los Angeles Lakers are nearing the end of a season that outsiders expected to end in disappointment. Los Angeles made the shocking decision to hire JJ Redick as its new head coach, replacing Darvin Ham with an individual who lacked coaching experience at a competitive level.
Redick has exceeded expectations at every turn, but it's his most recent accomplishment that made it official: Los Angeles hired the correct replacement.
Redick played 15 seasons in the NBA and was the face of college basketball during his legendary Duke Blue Devils career. His post-playing career was spent as an analyst and podcaster rather than a coach, however, which led many to believe he wasn't qualified to replace Ham.
Ham played nine NBA seasons himself, and spent 11 years as an assistant coach in the Association before ultimately landing the Lakers job in 2022.
Despite the admittedly fair concerns, Los Angeles went as far outside the box as any franchise ever has in replacing Ham after a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign. It prioritized innovative thinking over experience and has thus far been rewarded for that gamble.
The progress that the Lakers have made under Redick became official on Sunday, Apr. 6 when the team officially surpassed its win total from the 2023-24 campaign.
Lakers have officially increased win total from 2023-24 to 2024-25
Los Angeles finished the 2023-24 regular season at 47-35, finishing at No. 8 in the Western Conference standings. It was thus forced to work its way through the Play-In Tournament to reach the 2024 NBA Playoffs, ultimately entering as the No. 7 seed after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans.
Fast forward to 2024-25 and Redick has the Lakers at 48-30, currently in sole possession of the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with just four games to play.
Much could change between now and the end of the season, but Los Angeles has positioned itself to avoid the Play-In Tournament for the first time since the current structure's inception. It leads the Denver Nuggets by 1.5 games, and holds a 2.0-game lead over four other teams.
The Play-In Tournament is still a realistic possibility for the Lakers, but they're in firm control of their own destiny with four games to play.
If Los Angeles wins at least two of its next four games, it'd secure the franchise's first 50-win season since 2019-20. Even if they fail to achieve that feat, Redick has already led the Lakers to their highest win total since that title-winning season.
The postseason will determine just how successful his first year truly was, but the regular season has already been a marked improvement over recent results.
An exception could be made for 2020-21, when Los Angeles went 42-30 during a COVID-shortened season—good for a winning percentage of .583. The Lakers are guaranteed to finish with a winning percentage of no worse than .585 in 2024-25, however, thus hammering home how unique this post-title success truly is.
Despite the mountains of criticism and skepticism Redick faced leading up to and following his hiring, the Lakers have officially improved from one head coach to the next.
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