Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick believes his team has the potential to become a strong defensive unit entering the 2026-27 NBA season, but identified transition defense and defensive rebounding as areas that need improvement.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s season opener against the Golden State Warriors, Redick said the Lakers had made progress throughout training camp and the preseason.
“From early in September and even kind of early training camp-ish, I thought we could potentially be around an average defense,” Redick said. “I think our standards for that have elevated. We have the chance to be a good defense.”
The Lakers ranked 10th defensively during the preseason, but Redick cautioned against reading too much into that standing. He pointed to transition defense and defensive rebounding as the main weaknesses the team must address.
“If we get better at that, I think we’ll have a chance to be a pretty good defense, and that’s exciting,” he said.
Redick also stressed the importance of team chemistry and how the Lakers respond when the season inevitably becomes difficult. Los Angeles enters the campaign with a roster built around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves following LeBron James’ departure to Philadelphia.
“I think this is going to be a team that is really committed to each other,” Redick said. “That can take you a long way.”
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He explained that commitment means more than unselfish play, describing it as solving problems together, supporting teammates and working through adversity. Redick expects the challenges to extend beyond the opening weeks of the season.
“The biggest unknown to me is how this team deals with adversity,” he said. “Hopefully there’s growth throughout the season so that we can deal with adversity in the right way. And that ultimately would prepare us for a deep playoff run.”
Redick also discussed the importance of Kevon Looney, who joined the Lakers after spending most of his career with Golden State. The coach praised Looney’s consistency, basketball IQ and willingness to build relationships with younger teammates.
“He has the awareness to know I’ve got to build a relationship with these guys for me to go help them,” Redick said, describing the veteran’s potential role in the locker room.
Despite feeling that the Lakers had completed their main preseason objectives, Redick acknowledged that he would have welcomed more practice time with the top nine or 10 players. He nevertheless emphasized that the team must balance patience with the expectation to compete every night.
“The expectation is you’re going to compete to win and you’re going to go try to win a basketball game and you’re going to do it to our standards,” Redick said.
The Lakers open their regular season against the Warriors on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
