JJ Redick knows Lakers’ first loss will bring ‘sky is falling’ reaction

October 21, 2026

The Lakers haven’t played their opener, and JJ Redick is already anticipating the reaction when something goes wrong.

“It could be [Wednesday] night, you’re going to come to me and tell me that the world is ending and the sky is falling,” Redick told reporters Tuesday, via Ben Golliver of ESPN. “We’ve got to work through that together.”

For Redick, how the Lakers handle those moments is the “biggest unknown” entering a season of considerable change. LeBron James is gone after eight seasons, and the roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves has been extensively rebuilt. The scrutiny, naturally, will be familiar.

“With the Lakers, how many times did we lose last year? Twenty-nine times?” Redick said. “[So, the sky was falling] 29 times.”

Los Angeles opens Wednesday against Stephen Curry and the Warriors at Crypto.com Arena. Doncic, Reaves and newly acquired center Walker Kessler will start, though Redick hadn’t announced his choices at forward.

He used 12 different starters during a 2-3 preseason, an indication of how much there was to sort through following the summer overhaul. Along with Kessler, the newcomers include Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and first-round pick Cameron Carr.

NBA general managers identified the Lakers as one of the toughest teams to predict in their annual survey. Redick wasn’t particularly concerned with that assessment, saying “predictions don’t mean anything.”

He’s more interested in whether the group improves its response to difficult stretches.

“That’s different, maybe, in how we deal with adversity in November versus how we deal with adversity in March,” Redick said. “Hopefully, there’s growth throughout the season so we can deal with adversity in the right way, and that will ultimately prepare us for a deep playoff run.”

Reaves, now the longest-tenured Laker, believes the roster has the character to stay together when the losses come. He also sees a team that needs game experience to reach its potential.

“We’re good enough to win a lot of games, but I don’t think we’re as good as we can be,” Reaves said. “With the [repetitions] and in-game competition and going through adversity, that will only build us to be better in the long haul.”