JJ Redick is set to be the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach. And while he never played for the team, he does have a history with some of its legends. While on “7PM in Brooklyn” this week, Carmelo Anthony shared a story of how Kobe Bryant “couldn’t stand” Redick during the Team USA tryouts.
Mike Krzyzewski was the Team USA head coach, and he had some history with Redick as he had coached him at Duke. Krzyzewski was raving about the former Blue Devil, who was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and the 2006 National Player of the Year.
“I remember Kobe couldn’t stand JJ Redick,” Anthony, who retired with the Lakers in 2023, retold.
Although he did not specify the date, it seems this story took place ahead of the 2008 Beijing Games. Redick was just about two seasons into the league after being drafted 11th overall by the Orlando Magic. Bryant, who at this point had already played in the NBA for 12 seasons and had earned three NBA championships with the Lakers, allegedly gave Redick a hard time during practice.
“He got tired of Coach K talking about JJ Redick,” Anthony said in the podcast. “Kob took it very, very personal. To the point where he was running through screens in practice. He was denying JJ the ball. Fouling the s**t out of JJ. I’m like, why are you treating the young boy like that?”
“…This Motherf****r ain’t let JJ Redick score in practice,” he added.
In an interview with Dan Le Batard back in April, Redick said Bryant helped inspire what would eventually become the “Mind The Game” podcast with Redick and LeBron James.
Redick competed with the USA Basketball Under-21 Team in 2005 and won gold medals at the World Championship and the Global Games. However, he never made it to the Team USA Olympics roster. As for Bryant, he won gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and also the 2012 London Games.
