JJ Redick says Lakers’ response to adversity is the unknown after NBA GM survey
The Lakers were among the teams general managers found hardest to predict. Redick dismissed preseason forecasts and focused on how his team will handle setbacks.
Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said on October 20 that preseason predictions would not determine his team’s season after NBA general managers placed the Lakers among the teams whose success was hardest to forecast. In an account by Ava Brand for LA Sports Report, Redick identified the team’s response to adversity as his biggest unknown.
“Predictions don’t mean anything,” Redick said, according to LA Sports Report. He described them as a fun exercise and recalled enjoying Western Conference previews when he hosted a podcast. His concern was how the Lakers would react over the course of an 82-game season, when difficult stretches could test a team differently at different times.
How general managers rated the Lakers
The Lakers tied with the Utah Jazz at 13% in the survey category for teams whose success was most difficult to predict, LA Sports Report said. The Philadelphia 76ers led that category with 27% of the votes, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves with 17%. The category asked executives about uncertainty, rather than which team they expected to finish highest.
The NBA’s 2026–27 general manager survey, published on October 15, asked executives 48 questions about teams, players, coaches and offseason moves. General managers could not vote for their own teams or personnel. In its separate Western Conference ranking, the Lakers placed sixth with 1% of total points. That ranking addressed expected conference performance, a different question from how predictable the team’s season would be.
Redick’s concern over an 82-game season
Redick said the biggest unknown in what the Lakers could become was how they would deal with adversity. Their response in November could differ from their response in March, he said. He hoped the team would grow through those experiences and handle them in a way that prepared it for a deep playoff run. He also said he expected his players to compete to win each game and play to the team’s standards.
Los Angeles finished last season 53–29 and fourth in the Western Conference, according to LA Sports Report. Those results offer a recent measure of the team’s performance as Redick begins his third season as head coach. His comments on October 20 focused on how the current group would respond as the new season unfolds.
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Sources and context
- JJ Redick Reacts To NBA GM Survey, Lakers’ ‘Tough To Predict’ SuccessLA Sports Report (Ava Brand); republished by Yahoo Sports
- 2026-27 NBA GM Survey: 48 questions before new seasonNBA.com
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