Luka Doncic & JJ Redick’s 10-Year Friendship is ‘Good’ After ‘Tense’ Exchange, Says Insider

Luka Doncic and JJ Redick played together for the Dallas Mavericks long before they got together on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Luka Doncic & JJ Redick’s 10-Year Friendship is ‘Good’ After ‘Tense’ Exchange, Says Insider

Luka Doncic and JJ Redick had a tense moment (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Luka Doncic and JJ Redick's recent sideline exchange has sparked criticism regarding their relationship.
  • Insider reports indicate that their friendship remains strong despite competitive tensions.
  • JJ Redick downplayed the incident, stating it was a normal interaction between competitive players.

The basketball world is currently focused on how Luka Doncic and his Los Angeles Lakers are performing, especially with the guard’s recent ‘tense’ moment with head coach JJ Redick coming to light.

The Slovenian was already subjected to a lot of criticism, ranging from his excessive complaining to his ball-hogging ways and even his evident lack of effort on the defensive end.

Most of it stemmed from when the franchise lost three straight games, with all of them exposing how most of their problems started and ended with Doncic, or at least that is how those in the media felt it was.

Then, when this sideline interaction between the two became public knowledge, it started a new round of criticisms, either calling out the 6’8″ guard for not respecting his head coach.

Or, there were those who felt that JJ Redick did not command the respect of his former teammate and most of the players in the locker room. However, an insider claimed it was anything but what the audience was making of it.

A league source said when he saw the video, ‘LA is different. The smallest thing becomes the biggest thing.’ A source close to Luka told me that him and JJ have a strong close relationship that dates back nearly a decade, and they are both fiercely competitive, and they push one another.

Dave McMenamin reported on NBA Today

For someone whose primary job is to follow and gather details about the Lakers, McMenamin felt the video and the interaction between Luka Doncic and his head coach were nothing out of the ordinary and were just blown out of proportion.

Analyst believes JJ Redick has to grow up to avoid such instances with Luka Doncic

Even though Dave McMenamin reiterated that this ‘tense’ exchange between Luka Doncic and JJ Redick was not out of the ordinary, Nick Wright believes the head coach has to become the bigger person.

JJ Redick is petty, and we all know this. Luka can annoy his coaches… Luka not dapping up JJ is unfortunate, but acceptable. JJ not dapping up Luka is unacceptable. JJ’s gotta be the adult.

Nick Wright said on What’s Wright? with Nick Wright

Wright highlighted the recent situation involving Anthony Edwards and his head coach, Chris Finch. After the latter asked his star player to pass the ball, the guard ignored his coach and went on to score the game-winner. Even when he chirped back, Finch did not respond.

The analyst reminded his viewers that the Lakers’ head coach has proved in the past that he can be petty. But when handling tense situations, the team’s leader must become the adult.

JJ Redick shrugs altercation with Luka Doncic

With the Los Angeles Lakers welcoming the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena, reporters at the home team’s media session were bound to ask JJ Redick about his exchange with his star player.

Luka Doncic and JJ Redick have been close for 10 years
Luka Doncic and JJ Redick have been close for 10 years (Image via LADEig/X)

I didn’t think much of it at the time… He and I have a great relationship, we value our relationship… It’s a competition, there’s two guys who are, in this case, trying to win a basketball game… I encourage guys talking to me… I don’t know why it went viral, it felt very normal to me

JJ Redick said

The 41-year-old basically shrugs off the entire altercation with his former teammate, as that is something that happens between two extremely competitive people. Moreover, he encourages his players to challenge him.

With the way the Lakers are struggling with inconsistency, it is possible that players and their coaches could have such moments, as all of them are trying to find what works.

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