LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers entered the 2025 playoffs with high hopes but were knocked out in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers had impressed in the regular season under new head coach JJ Redick, winning 50 games and securing the third seed, but came up well short in the postseason.

Unable to trust any of his reserve players in Game 4 of a best-of-seven series against the Timberwolves, Lakers coach JJ Redick opted to play the same five players for the entire second half — rather than play any of his bench players — in a crushing 116-113 defeat to go down 3-1 in the series.

JJ Redick was seen as a risky hire when the Los Angeles Lakers first decided to name him head coach of the franchise. He had zero prior coaching experience, and many were worried about his ability to lead a team with LeBron James — both a friend and someone his exact age — without losing the locker room like previous coaches had.