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Dave McMenamin
Multiple Authors
LOS ANGELES — After a testy bench exchange between JJ Redick and Luka Doncic made the rounds on the internet, the Los Angeles Lakers coach said he didn’t know why the interaction warranted extra attention.
“I don’t know why it went viral,” Redick said before the Lakers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. “It felt very normal to me.”
The clip in question occurred during L.A.’s 129-101 road win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, when Doncic was subbed out of the game and walked to his seat on the bench without accepting Redick’s fist bump.
Redick followed Doncic down the sideline, and the two shared a few heated words before Redick walked back toward half court. After Redick cleared the area and Doncic sprung to his feet to bark more at his coach, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt stood up from his seat and clapped his hands to put a barrier between the two.
“I didn’t think much of it at the time, to be honest with you,” Redick said. “I don’t think Luka did either. He and I have a great relationship. I really value our relationship. And I think those things happen. Not every game, but they happen very frequently. And sometimes you have to rehash them with a player, or as a teammate. Sometimes it happens player to player.
“It’s a competition. And there’s two guys here who, in this case, are trying to win a basketball game and be on the same page about stuff.”
L.A. had been on a three-game losing streak going into the Golden State game, including last-second losses against Orlando and Phoenix.
When asked about the Redick-Doncic moment a Lakers source dismissed any deeper meaning, telling ESPN, “Find me a star on a three-game losing streak in the NBA that isn’t frustrated.”
A source close to Doncic told ESPN that the two “have a strong, close relationship,” adding that they are “both fiercely competitive and are always pushing each other.”
Doncic finished the Warriors game with 26 points and eight assists. L.A. won its next game, too, 128-104 over the Sacramento Kings, with Doncic putting up 28 points and nine assists.
Redick was asked about how he deals with outside noise — in this case, a frantic portion of the fan base misinterpreting an irritable moment with one of his players to mean anything more than that — while trying to focus on coaching his team.
“It just feels normal, which is probably part of the reason I wanted to coach the Lakers,” Redick said with a laugh. “I was talking to Luka about it. We were actually laughing about it. I was like, ‘I didn’t feel any tension.’ He was like, ‘Nah, I didn’t care about it.’
“You do it and you move on. I think the reality is, everybody is going to always have an opinion. Since pro sports have existed, everybody has always had an opinion. There’s been sports talk, there’s been barber shops, chat rooms. Everybody’s had an opinion. Now, everybody’s opinion is more easily accessible. It’s just more amplified now, but it’s normal.”