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Mike Krzyzewski Didn't Hold Back on JJ Redick's Coaching

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Apr 18, 2025 3:15 PM ET

Los Angeles has been buzzing since the Lakers ripped off a strong winning streak back in February, right around the same time they traded for Luka Dončić.

This massive swing vaulted them from the league's 20th-ranked defense over the first three months of the season to first overall.

Without their best defender, L.A. held Jalen Brunson to 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting and Karl-Anthony Towns to 17 on 3-for-12 in a 128-112 win at Madison Square Garden on February 1, 2025.

One night later, the Clippers' James Harden managed just seven points on 2-for-12 shooting, and Kawhi Leonard was 4-for-11 for 11 points.

In those four weeks, the Lakers rocketed up the Western Conference standings, prompting league-wide praise for head coach JJ Redick, including his former coach at Duke University, Mike Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski, the Hall of Famer who led Duke to five national championships over a 42-year tenure, admitted he'd been watching the Lakers especially closely this season, per Rabona Shelburne of ESPN.

Around the height of that defensive surge, he sent a text to his former player and now first-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick, joking, "Who the hell would've predicted you could teach defense?".

He later told ESPN, "What they're doing seems very simple, but it's actually a lot of preparation. They make it where the other team's lower-percentage shooters are taking more shots."

Redick, the 2006 National College Player of the Year at Duke, earned a reputation as one of the sport’s most lethal shooters before carving out a 15‑year NBA career.

Now, as the Lakers face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, Coach K's seal of approval might be the ultimate confidence boost the team needs to go on a run.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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