A video of Luka Doncic and Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is going around social media. Doncic went over to the bench, blew by Redick, who was trying to grab him, and sat down. The Lakers coach went over and confronted him, and when Redick walked away, Doncic stood up. Immediately, people began throwing out accusations that the two hate each other.
But that’s a bit dramatic. Over the course of the last five years, it’s become pretty clear that Doncic and Redick have a deep respect for each other. From their time as teammates to Doncic going on Redick’s podcast to now. Both are competitors. This altercation doesn’t mean they hate each other.
It means they want to win.
Video of Luka Doncic and JJ Redick arguing is being blown out of proportion by fans
It’s no secret that the Lakers haven’t been as good as some may have hoped this season. They’re in line for a top-six seed in the West, but their point differential is scarily low.
Doncic isn’t the best defender in the world. In fact, there are moments throughout the course of a game when it seems as though he doesn’t even care about trying on that end.
On top of that, there are inevitably going to be moments when he messes up a coverage, gets mixed up, or miscommunicates with his teammates. As the head coach, Redick should be pointing these out.
But like Doncic, Redick is also intense. Whether it was during his playing career or throughout his short tenure as a coach, he’s always screaming. All he wants to do is win, and nothing will get in the way of that.
Sports are inherently intense. Players and coaches get into it all the time. And in the heat of the moment, tensions rise, and adrenaline is running wild. That’s almost certainly what happened here.
Doncic probably got confused on the court or did something that wasn’t part of Redick’s plans, and the two guys disagreed about it once the Lakers star got back to the bench.
Maybe Redick said something Doncic didn’t like. Maybe that’s why he stood up to re-confront Redick after the first interaction. (Luckily, Jarred Vanderbilt got in between the two guys.)
But for all the people going on social media and talking about how much Doncic and Redick hate each other, that’s a bit of a stretch.
Context is always important. Competition breeds intensity, and everyone gets invested. This was almost certainly just a classic of two guys getting fired up and getting into a disagreement. Nothing more.