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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick got emotional inside the locker room following his 100th career win as a coach.
Inside a jubilant locker room at Crypto.com Arena, the Los Angeles Lakers were doing what they’ve done often lately — celebrating another win.
But for head coach JJ Redick, Tuesday night carried a different kind of weight.
Moments after a 127–113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Redick stood before his team, ticking through milestones in a manner that has become routine during this late-season surge. Rui Hachimura had reached 5,000 career points. Luka Doncic continued a historic scoring tear. LeBron James had just become the winningest player in NBA history, surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Then the script broke.
A Pause, Then Something Personal
General manager Rob Pelinka stepped forward and signaled for one more recognition. The room quieted. A video played.
On the screen were Redick’s sons, Knox and Kai.
They weren’t talking about schemes or rotations. They were congratulating their father.
One hundred wins.
Redick didn’t say anything at first. He just stood there, taking it in — the rare stillness of a coach more often defined by precision and urgency. Around him, players watched as the moment lingered longer than most do in an NBA locker room.
For a franchise steeped in banners and numbers, this one felt different. It wasn’t about history. It was about the distance traveled.
From Doubt to Direction
Redick’s 100th win is not just a milestone; it’s a marker of how quickly the conversation around him has shifted.
When the Lakers began their coaching search in 2024, Redick was not the organization’s first choice. The franchise pursued Dan Hurley, the two-time national champion head coach of the UConn Huskies, offering a reported six-year, $70 million deal.
Hurley declined, opting to remain in Connecticut — where he has since led UConn back to the Final Four.
The Lakers pivoted to Redick, a first-time coach whose hiring was met with skepticism across the league.
Two seasons later, those doubts have largely dissolved.
The Lakers are 50–26 with six games remaining, having won 16 of their last 18. They hold a two-game lead over the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and have already secured a playoff berth.
In reaching 100 wins, Redick also became the first Lakers coach since Phil Jackson to post back-to-back 50-win seasons — a benchmark that carries weight in a building where expectations rarely shift.
Perspective, Not Comparison
Redick, however, has little interest in placing himself alongside the franchise’s coaching icons.
“Don’t deserve to be mentioned along with Phil or Pat [Riley] or any of those guys,” he said. “I’ve got a lot left to accomplish, for sure.”
He pointed instead to something less visible.
“I’ve had the same staff for the most part, both years. I think just we are resilient and we’re resolved.”
It is a telling answer — one that mirrors the identity his team has developed. The Lakers are not simply winning; they are organized, connected and, increasingly, reliable on both ends of the floor.
A Season That Tested More Than Basketball
That clarity did not come easily.
Last year’s playoff exit — a five-game loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves — exposed gaps that lingered into the offseason.
Preceding that loss was something far more personal: the 2025 California wildfires that forced Redick from his home and into a hotel for weeks.
Around the league, players such as Chris Paul and Stephen Curry reached out. The support mattered. So did the perspective.
What followed was not a dramatic overhaul, but a steady recalibration — a team learning how to hold itself accountable.
More Than a Milestone
Which is why Tuesday’s moment resonated.
Not because of the number, but because of what it represented.
The Lakers didn’t just surprise their coach. They reflected something back to him — the culture he has built, the belief that has taken hold, the trust that now fills a room that once carried doubt.
Redick eventually moved on, the way coaches always do. There’s another game, another adjustment, another challenge waiting.
But for a brief moment, he allowed himself to feel it.
And in that pause, the Lakers’ season — and his own — came into sharper focus.
Alder Almo is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
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