Lakers HC JJ Redick speaks for first time on coaching Luka Doncic

A lot has happened since Luka Doncic was surprisingly traded to the LA Lakers. More on what happened behind the scenes of that trade was revealed, the players and the general managers gave their statements, and Doncic finally held his introductory press conference.

There is plenty of reason to be excited about Doncic's arrival to La La Land. He's easily among the top players in the league and could easily become the face of that franchise for years to come. Understandably, first-year Lakers coach JJ Redick is one of the people who are excited about the Slovenian star's arrival.

Redick shared his thoughts on what it would be like to coach Doncic to reporter Allie Clifton. Clifton asked Redick what excites him the most about coaching Doncic.

"The killer mentality, the competitive nature," Redick said (Timestamp: 2:15). "Rob (Pelinka) mentioned his alter ego on the court, and it really is. He becomes an absolute killer on the basketball court, and getting to coach that is gonna be a lot of fun."

Doncic hasn't been in the league that long. He's just 25 and is only in his seventh season in the NBA. However, he has displayed immense talent and the ability to step it up in the clutch.

In each year he's been in the NBA except his rookie year, he has been named into the All-NBA first team. He's also been an All-Star in the last five seasons. Doncic was snubbed from the 2025 All-Star team, but that could be attributed to him being limited to just 22 games this year.

Last season, the Lakers guard also led the league in scoring (33.9 ppg). Aside from his scoring, he's also a threat to get a triple-double nearly every night.

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Luka Doncic jokes about Lakers coach JJ Redick's athleticism when they played in Dallas

During his introductory press conference, a media member asked Luka Doncic about LA Lakers coach JJ Redick. Specifically, Doncic was asked about his relationship with Redick, which they formed when they were teammates, and what he thought about playing for him.

With his answer, Doncic decided to have some fun at his new coach's expense.

"First of all, he couldn't move at all," Doncic said. "But it was a great relationship, I really respect him. You don't see me go on podcasts. I went on his podcast twice, so you know how much respect I have for him. So I'm really excited that I can play for him."

In 2020-21, Redick was traded by the New Orleans Pelicans to the Dallas Mavericks. Redick played 13 games for Dallas following the trade. Those 13 games would be the final games of a 15-year career.

After he retired, Redick hosted the "Old Man and the Three" podcast. He also hosted "Mind the Game" with LeBron James before he became the Lakers coach.