The NBA’s latest awards announcement included a small but notable piece of news for the Los Angeles Lakers: JJ Redick received votes in Coach of the Year balloting.
Redick was not one of the three finalists, and he was not close to winner Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics. But the Lakers coach received three third-place votes and finished tied for seventh in the final voting results released by NBA Communications. Mazzulla won the award, with Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff finishing second and San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson third.
For Redick, the placement is less about hardware and more about validation. The Lakers went 53-29 in his second season as head coach, finished fourth in the Western Conference and won the Pacific Division.
JJ Redick Received Coach of the Year Votes After Lakers’ 53-Win Season
Redick’s three third-place votes will not change the Lakers’ season, but they do offer a snapshot of how at least some voters viewed his work.
The Lakers were not a surprise rebuilding team. They were not a low-expectation group that suddenly jumped into the playoff field. They were a star-driven team with pressure, attention and a roster built around Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
That makes Redick’s Coach of the Year case more complicated.
A coach leading a team like the Lakers is often judged differently. Winning is expected. The franchise’s visibility can cut both ways. Every losing streak becomes a referendum, and every adjustment gets picked apart, but regular-season success can also be dismissed as the product of elite talent.
Still, Redick helped the Lakers stack 53 wins and stay near the top of a crowded Western Conference. That was enough for him to appear on some ballots, even if he did not have the kind of narrative that usually wins this award.
The NBA’s voting table put Redick in the same point range as Portland Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter, who also received three third-place votes. Redick finished ahead of several established names who received one or two points, including Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajaković.
That is not a massive honor, but it is a real one. Redick is still early in his coaching career, and getting any recognition in a league-wide award vote matters.
Why Redick’s Lakers Case Was More Complicated Than the Finalists
The top of the Coach of the Year vote was driven by clearer regular-season stories.
Mazzulla received 62 first-place votes after leading Boston to a 56-26 season, according to CelticsBlog. Bickerstaff finished second after a strong season with Detroit, while Johnson finished third after San Antonio’s rise.
Those are easier Coach of the Year cases to sell than Redick’s.
Boston had to reshape itself and still remained near the top of the East. Detroit’s climb under Bickerstaff gave voters a turnaround story. San Antonio’s progress under Johnson fit the profile of a young team arriving ahead of schedule.
The Lakers’ story was different. Redick was coaching a team expected to matter. He had top-end talent, but he also had to manage the demands that come with that talent.
That is why the seventh-place finish feels about right. Redick did not deserve to be ahead of the coaches with stronger award cases, but he also did enough to land on ballots.
The Lakers’ 2025-26 season was not a fluke. It was Redick’s second straight 50-win regular season after Los Angeles went 50-32 in his first year. The Lakers also extended Redick’s contract before the 2025-26 season, with president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka praising his leadership and impact on the team’s culture.
That context matters. The Coach of the Year votes were not the first sign that Redick had earned organizational confidence. They were an outside confirmation that his work has started to register beyond Los Angeles.
NBA Announces Los Angeles Lakers Coach JJ Redick News