Stephen A. Smith is now a believer in Lakers head coach JJ Redick.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA;Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has emphatically proved his doubters wrong in his first season at the helm. Redick has led the Lakers to the third seed in the Western Conference, and Stephen A. Smith stated on NBA Countdown that it won’t be long before he wins a title.

“I want to say something and I don’t consider it bold at all: JJ Redick is going to win himself a championship one day as a coach, in the near future,” Smith said.

“I think he’s proven to be that exceptional, and that locked in, and that zeroed in. It might not be this year, but with Luka [Doncic] and LeBron [James], I can’t summarily dismiss them against anybody outside of OKC.”

Smith has spectacularly changed his tune on the Lakers’ head coach compared to earlier this season. Back in February, Smith stated Redick still has to fill Darvin Ham’s shoes. He also felt the Lakers had no chance of beating the Denver Nuggets, but doesn’t consider that to be the case anymore.

Smith also gave the Lakers no chance to win a championship this season after the Luka Doncic trade. He believed the roster wasn’t good enough to contend, but is now backing Redick to lead the team to glory sooner rather than later.

To be fair to Smith, he wasn’t the only one who thought the Lakers didn’t have much of a chance of winning this season. Incorporating a big piece like Doncic tends to take time, and he was going to play alongside LeBron James. There were questions about how quickly they’ll be able to adjust to playing with each other.

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Another big concern when it came to the Lakers was that they didn’t really have a starting-caliber center after trading away Anthony Davis. They had brought in Mark Williams, but then had to rescind the trade due to medical issues.

All that seemed to have ensured the Lakers wouldn’t be competing for a title in 2025. Redick, though, proceeded to then show why the team was so high on him despite his having no prior head coaching experience. He had the team chugging along to the point that Smith started to believe he deserved consideration for Coach of the Year.

Redick won’t be winning COY, but he has done a fabulous coaching job. The Lakers finished with a 50-32 record this season, and it’s the first time they’ve won 50 games in a single campaign since they won the title in 2019-20.

According to Rui Hachimura, the third seed and 50 wins were Redick’s goals before the start of the season. You’d have scoffed at such lofty aspirations back in October, but he’s pulled it off.

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Redick has passed the regular season test with flying colors, but stiffer challenges now await. The Lakers will be taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.

The Timberwolves made it to the Western Conference Finals last year, with Anthony Edwards leading the way. They’re not quite as good as they were last season, but they are still a very dangerous team. Redick will need to be at his best if he is to win his first-ever playoff series as a coach.