After a hot start to the season, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in a downward spiral, losing six of their last 10 and sitting with a 19-10 record.
The team’s recent efforts inspired head coach JJ Redick to call them out following a 119-96 blowout loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas.
“We don’t care enough right now,” Redick said. “And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional.
“The two words of the day were effort and execution. And I feel like when we’ve done both of those things at a high level, we’ve been a good basketball team. When we haven’t, we’re a terrible basketball team. And tonight we were a terrible basketball team. And that started legitimately right away.”
While Redick didn’t name names, it’s implied that superstar LeBron James is on the list Redick was calling out.
James’s former teammate and rival, Dwyane Wade, doesn’t think the 40-year-old basketball superstar is sweating Redick’s comments too much.
John Wall and Dwyane Wade on how LeBron should feel about JJ Redick comments on the teams effort
Wall: Im in year 23 im giving you my best. Be realistic what more do you expect from me
Wade: LeBron on his golf simulator right now. He’s not worried about this
(via @NBAonPrime) pic.twitter.com/Co1GoyG278
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) December 27, 2025
“LeBron is on his golf simulator right now,” said Wade during Prime Video’s NBA coverage on Friday. “He’s working on getting that under. He’s not worried about this.”
While Wade was joking, James recently shared his excitement about playing golf during the upcoming offseason on social media. So he might be more right than he even thinks.
Perhaps Redick was talking to James, his former podcasting partner, to step it up. However, while LeBron isn’t putting up the numbers he used to, he’s still a solid contributor for the Lakers (he scored 18 points and dished five assists against Houston), even if he’s dreaming of hitting the links while doing it.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.