JJ Redick Reveals Lakers Starting Lineup for Upcoming Season

Ricardo Sandoval | Sep 25, 2024

Jul 2, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick at a press conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

This past June, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to make their fourth coaching change in the last eight seasons. After the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, the Lakers decided to cut ties with Darvin Ham. 

Although Ham was successful, leading the Lakers to a 90-74 record and an appearance in the Westen Conference Finals in 2023, it wasn't enough for the Lakers.

L.A. fired Ham in early May, and the search for the next head coach was ongoing. While the Dan Hurley saga hit a peak in early June, only one coach was the front-runner the entire time: former player and analyst JJ Redick. 

Redick was hired in late June, and while it was a head-scratcher for many, the Lakers were confident in their decision. Soon, things will start to feel real, as we are less than a month away from the start of the regular season and less than a week away from the start of training camp.

While L.A. will have many question marks, one of them won't be the starting lineup. ESPN NBA insider Zach Lowe spoke with Redick on his podcast, and he revealed the starting lineup for the upcoming season. 

"Yeah. It will be the starting five that went 23-10 last year."

He is referring to the five-man starting lineup of D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura, and Anthony Davis.

These five players were the starters for the last two months of the season, and L.A. looked like the team everyone thought they would be at the start of the season.

The starting five finished the regular season on a strong note and looked like a championship team. To close the season, the Lakers finished first in field goal percentage (51.2 percent), third in points per game (121.0), third in offensive rating by team (118.5), and fifth in win percentage (69 percent) behind teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, and the Boston Celtics.

The starting five of Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Davis are the only starting five in the NBA during the 32-game stretch to have all starters averaging 16 points per game or more.

The Lakers will look to rely heavily on Davis and James, and rightfully so; however, others like Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, and Max Christie, to name a few, will be responsible for taking this team to the next level.

Redick will have a lot on his plate. 

More Lakers: Lakers Skipping Minicamp This Year: Report