JJ Redick Doesn’t Understand Why His ‘Heated’ Moment With Luka Doncic Went Viral

During the Los Angeles Lakers’ comfortable victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, there was a hiccup involving JJ Redick and Luka Doncic clashing on the touchlines. It became one of the most talked about moments of the week, which wasn’t a surprise considering Doncic’s star status. But Redick cannot understand why it became a huge deal.

While subbing out Doncic, the all-star guard looked visibly upset with his head coach and tried ignoring him on the way to the bench. But Redick followed him all the way to his seat before getting into a back-and-forth exchange with Doncic and then storming off. 

Naturally, many NBA fans are beginning to speculate whether there was a rift between Redick and Doncic. Even after the coach stormed off in the clip, Luka looked as though he had something else to say. But Jarred Vanderbilt stood up and got in his path, playing peacemaker and settling his teammate down. 

Before Tuesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Redick took the time to clear up the perceived rift between him and Doncic. 

“I didn’t think much of it at the time. I don’t think Luka did either… Don’t know why it went viral. It felt very normal to me,” he told the media. 

The coach took the stance that tensions run high in the heat of battle. He talked about how things like this happen when two competitive personalities are on the same team. All in all, he didn’t sound too worried. 

“I think he and I have a really good relationship. I value that relationship.”

Even though it may have looked like Doncic and Redick didn’t like each other in that specific moment, it didn’t mean that they dislike each other. It may be hard for some fans to understand, but sometimes, players and coaches have heated discussions. Oftentimes, it’s just behind closed doors.

The Lakers head coach and Doncic certainly let their discussion go for the public to see, and someone just happened to be filming. But all reports point to the fact that the two have a strong relationship that has lasted for years. After all, they used to be teammates back when Redick played. 

At the end of the day, this got the masses riled up, but it’ll be swept under the rug and forgotten about in time. It goes to show that there’s more than meets the eye at times in the NBA and in sports. What may look like a rift between Redick and Doncic is actually two super competitive guys who really want to win a basketball game.