In June, addressing reporters for the first time as Los Angeles Lakers head coach, JJ Redick looked the part. He had the dark suit, the neatly coiffed hair and, most of all, the unabashed confidence. “I really don’t give a f—,” Redick said in response to a question that referenced skeptical comments about his ability to jump from the broadcast booth to the bench. Indeed, Redick had a vibe that was Pat Riley-esque, a comparison the Lakers’ brass has made internally. Riley led L.A. to four titles—a high standard for a novice to live up to.

Other teams have hired former players with no coaching experience before, with mixed results. The most encouraging example is Steve Kerr, who has led the Golden State Warriors to four titles, including in his rookie season of 2014–15 after inheriting a team that had won one playoff series in three years under his predecessor, Mark Jackson (himself a coaching newbie). Then there’s Steve Nash, who despite being handed an abundance of talent in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, was dismissed after two early playoff departures followed by a nail-in-the-coffin 2–5 start in 2022–23.

“It’s a different challenge,” says former Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro, who had been a player, broadcaster and assistant general manger before taking over on Chicago’s bench in 2008 at the age of 42. “You can watch all the film you want, you can think you have all the best plays and things of that nature. No matter how smart you think you are and how much other experience you have, there are going to be things that are going to happen.”

[ Buy now: Victor Wembanyama on Sports Illustrated’s November 2024 cover, the NBA and college basketball preview issue ]

In Chicago, Del Negro says, he leaned on a staff of veteran assistants led by former head coaches Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff. Each morning, Del Negro would meet with Harris to go over offensive game-planning. Then he would confer with another assistant, Bob Ociepka, who handled the defense. Bickerstaff critiqued practices and how Del Negro ran in-game huddles.

“The thing I realized quickly is there is never enough time,” says Del Negro, who went 41–41 in each of his two seasons in Chicago and is now an analyst with NBA TV. “When you’re a young coach you think, O.K., I’m going to get three or four things done today. And you realize, depending on who your audience is, you’re better off making sure you perfect one, maybe two things instead of being mediocre at three and four.”

Like Del Negro, Redick has assembled a seasoned staff, headlined by Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks, both former head coaches. Early on, Redick’s message has been simple: Get organized. Privately, players grumbled about uncertainty with the game plans last season under Darvin Ham, and about how roles routinely changed.  

Improving shot selection has been another point of emphasis. Last season L.A. launched 10.4 midrange jumpers per game (12th in the NBA), but ranked 23rd in making them (38.6%). Redick wants his team, which attempted the third-fewest threes in the league (31.4 per game), to shoot more from beyond the arc. As the NBA has zigged toward emphasizing defensive versatility and a three-point-centric attack, the Lakers have zagged toward size and a more paint-oriented offense. Redick aims to change that. 

But even if he does, will it matter for a team that had LeBron James and a healthy Anthony Davis last year but still didn’t make the playoffs? Even if Redick is a coaching wunderkind, given the limitations of the roster beyond its two stars, marching up the standings in a competitive Western Conference will be challenging. 

All Redick can do, says Del Negro, is create a standard—and stick to it. 

“Coaching is gut-wrenching,” says Del Negro. “It’s 24/7. Let your players know how you expect them to perform and work on that every day until you are successful.”