During the Los Angeles Lakers’ win against the Golden State Warriors on February 28, NBA superstar Luka Dončić got into a spat with head coach JJ Redick.
A video was taken of the spat and it went viral on social media, so much so that people began to speculate that Dončić and Redick had beef.
However, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Dončić and Redick have a “close relationship.”
The Lakers were on a three-game losing streak coming into the Warriors game, so tensions were high for Luka Dončić and JJ Redick, two intense competitors who hate losing.
Los Angeles beat Golden State and followed that up with a win against the Sacramento Kings the following evening to improve to 36-24. The Purple and Gold are in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
Dončić is in his first full season with the Lakers, who acquired the All-Star from the Dallas Mavericks last season. The 27-year-old point-forward is averaging 32.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game while shooting 47.3% from the field, 36.0% from beyond the arc and 77.2% from the free-throw line. He leads the NBA in points per game.
The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. Redick, who was teammates with Dončić on the Mavericks, is in his second season with Los Angeles. He was hired in 2024.
Despite having Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers haven’t looked like a championship contender this season. They are 15th in the NBA in net rating and have one of the worst defenses in the league.
Redick’s group is 22nd in defensive rating.
It will be fascinating to see if the Lakers make the playoffs this season. They are only two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns in the West standings.
Seeds 7-10 are play-in teams, while seeds 1-6 automatically make the playoffs.
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