Immediately After Getting A New Extension To Coach The Lakers, JJ Redick Let It Slip That He Uses ChatGPT To Learn How To Be Good At His Job

Michael Reaves. Getty Images.

I would like to begin this blog by acknowledging that I'm a JJ Redick guy. Even though I hate the Lakers with every fiber of my being and wish them nothing but the worst at all times, I loved the hire for them. One thing JJ Redick has been clear about is how he's basically a Joe Mazzulla disciple. His obsession with the game, the fact that he's clearly an absolute basketball sicko, how he views NBA basketball should be played in 2025, it all feels familiar because it derives from the Mazzulla Book of Dominance. In fact, there was a universe where Redick actually joined Mazzulla's staff back when he first got the job.

So it pains me that someone I like is in charge of bringing success to the franchise I hate the most. It's quite the pickle for my brain. 

Now that we've established that, let's move into why this blog is being written in the first place. Yesterday, after just one season as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, the team decided to extend Redick

Initially, Redick signed a 4/$32M deal when he first took the job, so it's not like there was some glaring need to extend him, and I imagine there are some out there that are wondering why the Lakers even did it, considering they got throttled in the first round of the playoffs last year. At the same time, winning 50 games in the NBA isn't exactly easy (especially in the West), and I do believe in the idea that if you feel like you have "The Guy" leading your team, then there's nothing wrong with committing to him and continuing to build that culture. 

At the same time, I'm not sure how I would feel after Redick let it slip that he's a big ChatGPT guy. Not only that, but the fact that he's asking it daily how he can be good at his job as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers

Sure, he may have said that tongue in cheek, but deep down we all know it's really the truth. I can't lie, tough look for my guy JJ. That is of course, unless ChatGPT is giving him some great recommendations. I mean, the Lakers did win 50 games in Year 1, so maybe that's actually not a terrible idea?

So I did what any normal Lakers-hating blogger would do. I pulled up ChatGPT and asked it myself to see what type of advice it gave JJ. Let's have a look

I……kind of agree with these? 

First and foremost, getting player buy-in is crucial for any coach, but especially a young, first-time head coach. If you don't get complete buy-in from every player on the roster, you're cooked. Unfortunately, it does not appear that ChatGPT knows AD is no longer a Laker, but whatever. You need the buy-in before anything else, so that's good advice. 

Building a strong staff? Also super important. Shoutout Sam Cassell. 

Translating his knowledge? Eh, that one feels mostly like bullshit. Something tells me LeBron/Luka etc are pretty knowledgeable about basketball and the NBA. That's a miss.

Adapting to the NBA Grind is also a learning curve for new coaches, especially those with an aging superstar. I'm not sure what role players the Lakers are developing, but I guess this is true. Good coaches can embrace and adjust to the grind of a long NBA season. Given the fact that Redick played for forever, my guess is he already knew that.

Handling the media is one of my favorite parts of the JJ Redick Experience. Sure, there are times he may come off as a hardo, but if you're winning, that's perfectly acceptable in my mind. I thought this was one of the more fun parts of his first season, especially when he called out the NBA's media for not watching and just being negative to drive clicks. I respected that stance.

Establishing an identity. Now we're talking about the truly important stuff. This is arguably the toughest part of the gig, and cannot happen unless you have complete buy-in. Redick came in and adjusted how the Lakers played, which brought them a decent amount of success (gross). Moving forward, they're now tasked with building out a roster to fit that new identity that can survive and thrive both now and in a post-LeBron world. Not a bad thing to list in my opinion.

So all in all, this isn't exactly the worst advice I've ever seen? It's also not exactly Earth-shattering either, and definitely not something I would ever want to admit into a microphone, even if you were trying to make a joke. We know you weren't joking. But now that we have this clip/admission, it's only a matter of time before someone asks him about it during the season. Say the Lakers lose 3 of 5 or something like that, it wouldn't shock me one bit if this becomes a thing. 

Listen, all NBA coaches are a little wacky. My championship coach watches The Town and The Dark Knight 50,000 times a season as sources of inspiration. Granted, that helped him become the winningest coach ever to start a career and the youngest ever to win an NBA title, so sometimes these out-of-the-box methods work. Thankfully, that feels different than just being a ChatGPT merchant, so we'll see if Redick is able to find similar success one day (hope not!).