LOS ANGELES (WGHP) — Former NBA player and Duke University’s all-time leading scorer JJ Redick is considered the front-runner to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Redick, 39, famously starred for the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team from 2002 to 2006. His 2,769 points remain the most ever-scored by a player in the history of the program.
He twice won ACC Player of the Year and was the consensus national college player of the year his senior season.
Redick would go on to be selected with the 11th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic and had a 15-year NBA career. He played in the NBA Finals against the Lakers in 2009 with the Magic.
The best years of Redick’s career were from 2013-2019 and were spent with the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. He would then spend his last two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks before retiring.
Away from basketball, Redick has also become known in the basketball media space. He currently hosts “The Old Man and The Three” podcast and is an NBA color commentator for ESPN.
He also hosts the “Mind the Game” podcast with Lakers star LeBron James.
The Athletic reports that Redick is “the front-runner” to be the Lakers’ next coach. His former coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, has been a “respected unofficial resource” for the Lakers during the coaching search.
Redick was also a candidate for the Charlotte Hornets’ coaching vacancy. He interviewed for the position and Charania reported that he was a “serious candidate” for the position.
The Hornets ultimately hired Boston Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee as their head coach.