Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault and Lakers head coach JJ Redick have more in common than one might think. Beyond their interactions when Redick was an ESPN analyst, both share a connection to Lakers assistant coach Scott Brooks.
Daigneault’s First NBA Exposure Thanks to Brooks
Daigneault shared that Brooks provided him his first opportunity to see how an NBA franchise was run. When Brooks was the head coach of the Thunder from 2008-2015, Daigneault was the head coach of the Thunder’s G League squad. Daigneault told reporters that Brooks was “gracious” with his access.
“It was my first exposure to the NBA, and I was a G League coach,” Daigneault said. “I had never coached a 24-second shot clock before or been a head coach. He was gracious enough to let me be around the team in training camp, and when there were home games, I’d be around, preseason stuff and their staff meetings. I knew nothing about the NBA at that time, and so everything that I was seeing was new to me. He opened the door.”
Redick Considered Brooks for Coaching Staff
Redick said when he was first “rumored” to be a top candidate for the Lakers’ head coach job during the 2024 offseason, his phone buzzed repeatedly. He was alerted to Brooks as a potential coaching staff addition.
“I was getting hit up by 20, 25 people across the NBA saying, you got to hire Scott Brooks,” Redick said.
Redick said he took Brooks to a golf course in Los Angeles after becoming head coach to determine if Brooks was the right fit.
Redick and Daigneault’s First Meeting
Redick spoke to Daigneault during a production meeting while working as an ESPN analyst. Redick was receiving intel on the young Oklahoma City Thunder squad that was developing into a title contender. Daigneault told reporters that he had shown film of Redick playing defence to his players – something Redick remembers from those ESPN pregame meetings.
“(Daigneault) pulled me aside afterwards and mentioned a very specific series that he was showing clips (of Redick) to a couple of guys,” Redick said Tuesday before Game 1 tipped off at Paycom Center. “I think probably because of how I look, I get labeled as like a duck. But I was a duck in my first two years, and I was a duck my last three years. But in between, I was a pretty good defender.”
Redick shared that he has only ever shown one video of himself to his players, while trying to prove a point about being willing to take a charge during the regular season last year.
“I showed a clip of me taking a charge on LeBron (James), catching his spin move and it was his left elbow that went into my eye, and I got nine stitches and a concussion,” Redick said. “But that’s the only clip I’ve ever shown them of me.”
On Monday, during the Thunder’s final practice before the best-of-seven second-round series against the Lakers began, Daigneault spoke about Redick’s defensive plays.