JJ Redick
Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, winning many individual awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year. Selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft, he played for 15 seasons in the NBA with six teams. In 2024, Redick was appointed head coach of the Lakers.
In college and his professional career, Redick was known for his excellent three-point and free-throw shooting. He set Atlantic Coast Conference career records for most points and most ACC tournament points. Redick set several records at Duke, including all-time leading scorer and most points in a season. He holds a few NCAA free-throw-percentage records and several ACC records.
After being drafted by the Magic, he played for seven seasons in Orlando, followed by a short spell with the Milwaukee Bucks, then four seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. He signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017, and another the following year. In 2019, Redick signed a two-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2021. After 15 seasons in the NBA, Redick retired on September 21, 2021. Redick holds single-season three-point field goal records for several of the teams he played for.
In 2016, Redick became the first active NBA player and the second active professional athlete to start a weekly podcast during the regular season. He later co-founded the media company ThreeFourTwo Productions. He was also hired as an analyst for ESPN before becoming a coach.
High school career
Redick was a McDonald's All-American at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, Virginia, winning the 2002 McDonald's All-American Game MVP. He scored 43 points as a senior in the Virginia High School League Class AAA state championship game, a game in which the Knights defeated George Wythe High School of Richmond. Redick's total was a VHSL championship-game record for all classes, standing until Mac McClung scored 47 for Gate City High School in the 2018 Class 2A final. Redick played Amateur Athletic Union basketball for coach Delmar Irving with the Roanoke Jaguars and then the Boo Williams team, playing against Dwyane Wade in a July 1999 tournament in Orlando.Considered a five-star recruit by Scout.com, Redick was highly recruited and listed as the No. 2 shooting guard and the No. 13 player in the nation in 2002.
College career
In his first year at Duke University, Redick led his team with 30 points in their victory over NC State in the ACC Tournament championship game. He put up 26 points against Central Michigan in the second round of the NCAA tournament. However, he struggled in Duke's Sweet Sixteen loss to Kansas, hitting only two of 16 shots.Redick served as co-captain in his junior year, along with senior point guard Daniel Ewing. He also served as captain his senior year, along with fellow seniors Shelden Williams, Sean Dockery and Lee Melchionni.
In the 2004–05 season, Redick led Duke in scoring with 21.8 points per game. He won the ACC Player of the Year award, and the Adolph F. Rupp Trophy for national player of the year. Redick's victory in the Rupp voting spoiled the consensus for Utah's Andrew Bogut, who won every other major player of the year award. In 2006, after facing close competition all year from Gonzaga's Adam Morrison, Redick won the major player of the year awards.
Redick set an ACC record for consecutive free throws with 54. This record began on March 20, 2003, and ended on January 15, 2004. It was broken on January 22, 2012, by Scott Wood from NC State. Redick entered his final postseason with a chance to go down as the NCAA's all-time leading free-throw shooter. The record, 91.3%, was held at the time by Gary Buchanan of Villanova. In an otherwise triumphant visit to Greensboro Coliseum for the 2006 ACC tournament and early NCAA tournament games, Redick struggled at the line, lowering his career free-throw percentage by about 0.5% and finishing his career with 91.16%.
On February 14, 2006, in the first half of a game against Wake Forest, Redick broke Virginia alumnus Curtis Staples's NCAA record of 413 career three-pointers made. Keydren Clark of Saint Peter's College subsequently surpassed Redick's mark in the MAAC tournament. However, Redick returned the favor by hitting 15 three-pointers in the ACC Tournament and 12 in the NCAA Tournament to finish ahead of Clark. Redick finished his career with an NCAA-record 457 three-point field goals shooting 40.4% from three-point range. His career three-pointers record was broken on February 2, 2014, by Oakland University's Travis Bader.
In the game after breaking Staples' record, Redick scored 30 points on February 19, 2006, against Miami to become the all-time leading scorer at Duke, with 2,557 points scored in his career. On February 25, in a game versus Temple, Redick passed Dickie Hemric's 51-year-old ACC scoring record of 2,587 points with a pair of free throws in the waning minutes of the game. His record was topped in one of the opening round games of the 2009 NCAA tournament by North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough. Redick finished his career with 2,769 points.
On March 10, 2006, in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal against Miami, Redick scored 25 points, setting a Duke record for points in a season with 858. Redick ended the season with 964 points. Redick came up just short of the ACC record for points scored in a season, which was set by Dennis Scott with 970 points in 1990. Redick also finished his career as the leading scorer in ACC tournament history. His total of 225 points eclipsed Wake Forest's Len Chappell, who scored 220 points in the tournament from 1960 to 1962.
As the marquee player of the Blue Devils, Redick was the target of abuse by fans of rival teams. In 2006, Clay Travis of CBS Sports called him the "most hated current athlete in America." After students from rivals Maryland and North Carolina discovered his cell phone number, Redick estimated that he received 50 to 75 hate calls per day. Opposing crowds would shout obscenity-laced tirades, yelling at him that "they had sex with his little sister" and "your little brother is gay". The abuse nearly led him to quit basketball in his sophomore year. He turned to writing poetry as an outlet.
He had 36 double-figure scoring games in a single season, tied as of March 28, 2010, for 5th-most in Duke history with Jon Scheyer, Shane Battier, and Jason Williams.
Redick was the cover athlete and official spokesman for College Hoops 2K7, released on Xbox, Xbox 360
& PlayStation 2 in 2006 and PlayStation 3 in 2007.
On February 4, 2007, Duke retired Redick's no. 4 jersey at Cameron Indoor Stadium in a halftime ceremony, the 13th player so honored.
of the NCAA Record book, Redick held two NCAA records and was listed in nine other categories among their all-time leaders.
Professional career
Orlando Magic (2006–2013)
Redick was selected with the 11th pick in the 2006 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Pre-draft scouting reports praised Redick's perimeter shooting and basketball intelligence, but questioned his defensive ability and speculated that he might not be tall or athletic enough to create his own shots in the NBA. This scouting report was highlighted when Duke played LSU in the 2006 NCAA tournament. LSU's Garrett Temple, a 6'5" guard known for his athleticism and a large wingspan, chased Redick throughout the game. Taken out of his normal rhythm, Redick—the number two scorer in the nation at the time—had one of the worst shooting performances of his college career, shooting 3-for-18 from the field and scoring 11 points in a Duke loss.In a 2005 interview with the Charlotte Observer, Redick said, "I think I'll be a role player like 80 percent of the players in the league are. I don't expect to be a star, I'll just shoot, be a team player." He moved up into the backup shooting guard position behind well-known veteran and Duke alum Grant Hill.
Redick competed against Trevor Ariza and Keith Bogans for the starting shooting guard spot in 2007–08. He was pulled from playing more than once for his lack of defense during the preseason. He came into the season as a third-string player and saw limited action due to back spasms, but moved into limited rotation after Ariza was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers early in the season. In January 2008, Redick posted on his personal blog that "it's been proven that even if I play well in the limited minutes I get that not much is going to change." On January 31, 2008, the Orlando Sentinel reported that Redick had asked his agent, Arn Tellem, to inquire about a possible trade. "We want to see what's out there," Redick said. "I want to stay here, but it's been frustrating." Magic coach Stan Van Gundy responded: "Right now it would be very hard to fit him in. I know it's also hard to keep sitting him on the bench... Should we be playing him? Right now we're going good so we probably won't disrupt things." The Orlando Magic confirmed Van Gundy's comments by stating that Redick would not receive more minutes or a trade before the February 21, 2008 trade deadline.
In the 2008–09 season, Redick averaged 17.4 minutes per game instead of the previous season's 8.1; he played in 64 games instead of the previous season's 34. He averaged six points per game. The Magic made it to the NBA Finals, but lost to the Lakers in five games. Redick started all seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in place of regular starter Courtney Lee.
On March 28, 2010, Redick set career highs in rebounds, assists and minutes played. Vince Carter was injured just 95 seconds into the game; backup swingman Mickael Pietrus was also injured, leaving Redick to play the entire game.
On July 9, 2010, the Chicago Bulls signed Redick to a three-year, $19 million offer sheet. The Magic matched this offer on July 16, 2010, retaining the rights to Redick. On April 25, 2012, Redick achieved a career high with the Magic, scoring 31 points against the Charlotte Bobcats.