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Magic Johnson Points Finger at JJ Redick After Lakers' Elimination

JJ Redick's first season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers ended in disappointment, as the Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated them in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Redick had silenced his doubters with a strong regular season, but failed to deliver in the postseason.

Redick, who had gotten the job despite never having coached at the NBA, college or high school level, led the Lakers to an impressive 50-32 record in 2024-25. They were the third seed in the West, and expectations were high entering the playoffs. The Lakers were being touted as the biggest threat to the top-seeded Thunder, but fell apart at the first hurdle itself.

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.

The Timberwolves snatched home-court advantage by blowing out the Lakers 117-95 in Game 1. Some alarm bells started to ring after that defeat, but the Lakers then won Game 2 94-85 to ease concerns. They were right back in the series, but wouldn't win another game from then on.

The Lakers had been outplayed in the fourth quarters of the first two games, and that would continue to be the theme the rest of the way. While that alone reflected poorly on Redick, some big decisions he made ended up backfiring, too.

Redick played LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith for the entire second half in Game 4. The five of them seemed to run out of steam in the latter stages and would end up squandering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.

Redick was also criticized for playing smaller lineups against the Timberwolves, but he refused to change his game plan. That, in turn, led to Rudy Gobert dominating the Lakers with 27 points and 24 rebounds in Game 5. Redick certainly didn't fare well in his first-ever playoff series as head coach, and Magic Johnson appears to be blaming him for the Lakers getting eliminated in five games.

"ESPN’s Get Up host Mike Greeny was playing point guard like I used to by dishing the ball to all of the talent on the show this morning talking about the state of the Lakers and why they lost. Kendrick Perkins did a wonderful job, and I really respect his point of view on the Lakers this morning. Keep up the good work!"

Johnson loved what Kendrick Perkins had to say on "Get Up." As for what Perkins said, he fully blamed Redick for the Lakers' early exit.

"You damn right I'm blaming JJ Redick, you damn right," Perkins said on Get Up. "Mr. JJ Redick, I know more about basketball than anybody else in the world. Mr. JJ Redick, when the world is watching and can see that you need some type of size and athleticism on the floor when you're going against a physical, lengthy Minnesota team, who has Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels that imposes their will in the paint, but you still need this small-ball lineup out there on the floor?

"And leave a 40-year-old senior citizen in LeBron James to battle in the trenches for a seven-game series that went five," Perkins added. "Listen, I don't understand it, for the life of me. This is not about X's and O's and schemes. This was common sense."

Redick is coming under fire from all corners. All the goodwill he had earned for that regular season seems to have evaporated in an instant.

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