Lakers Training Camp Notebook: Why the players hate JJ Redick so far

LOS ANGELES — From the moment the Lakers’ season ended last year, head coach JJ Redick talked about the team getting in “championship shape.”

Those words weren’t justcoach speak coming out of Redick. Even before training camp, Redick began making sure his team has been in championship shape and that has carried on into the preseason.

“I don’t know if they like me right now with what we just finished the practice with,” Redick joked on Thursday. “But the physical part of it, I thought these guys were great. Their commitment to running, their commitment to being physical, I thought execution-wise, in all the live play for a group that hasn’t been together, has been very above average.”

To hammer the physical aspect home, Redick had them running at the end of practice. They started by running down and back the length of the court six times in 34 seconds, then 10 times in 60 seconds before doing it six times in 34 seconds once more.

Gabe Vincent didn’t find joy in the drill, but thought it was exactly what this team needed.

“I told JJ about a week or two ago, I said, ‘If we all hate you, we all hate you collectively, that’s great,’” Vincent said. “As long as we’re together in it, you know what I mean? Obviously, no one wants to run at the end of a long practice, but we know the goal we have set for ourselves and we know what we’re trying to do moving forward. And we all embraced it, we all got to run it, and we all got better for it.”

While championship shape has been a key focus, that standard has also been applied in every aspect of what the Lakers do. Inside the practice facility, the words are constantly spoken and then championship habits, championship communication and championship shape are visible for all to see in the gym.

Luka Dončić has certainly gotten into championship shape this offseason. The Slovenian star was also crushing it in EuroBasket this summer, but now he’s back with the Lakers. Luka said he views having a high level of readiness for a title run as requiring both top physical and mental fitness.

“We just talked about it today,” Luka said. “It’s not physical shape, it’s mental shape, too. It kind of goes both ways. Both are very, very important. We’re doing practice. It was great. 
Everybody’s in great shape. Everybody’s running a lot, so it’s been great.”

Notes and updates

• Redick announced the Lakers would be without LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber and Adou Thiero for Friday’s preseason opener.
• The Lakers could also still be without other players on Friday as the team had not yet finalized their injury report.
• Redick made it clear after Thursday’s practice that players won’t get regular minutes during this opening preseason game. He wants to focus on collective pace and to be cautious with players who are already pushing themselves hard during training camp.
• The Lakers will play the Suns at 10 p.m. on Friday at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.