The Los Angeles Lakers and head coach JJ Redick reportedly made an exciting addition to the coaching staff in Sacramento Kings assistant and G League coach of the year Lindsey Harding. The former WNBA star has built a pristine early reputation as a coach, and is continuing to work her way up the coaching ladder with the Lakers move.
And it appears that Redick’s respect for Harding and her work as a coach goes back several years. In 2020, rumors first began circulating that Mike Kryzyzewski was considering retirement atop the Duke Blue Devils illustrious basketball program. At the time of these rumors, Harding was a player development coach within the Kings organization.
But Redick was still very aware of the positive impact she was having at the NBA level, as he endorsed her to take over the Duke program four years ago:
Can we get a look for Lindsey Harding? 🙏🏻 https://t.co/QMF0bB9IX1
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) July 6, 2020
Redick knew all the way back then that Harding would only grow in her role as a coach. Jon Scheyer eventually landed the Duke job in 2022, when Harding was named to the official Kings coaching staff. At the time, Harding maybe didn’t have the credentials to take over the blue blood program. But that didn’t matter to Redick, who is a fellow Duke alum like Harding.
Now, Redick — when finally having the opportunity to build his own staff — made sure that Harding’s skill sets would be involved. She could not only play a major role in helping the Lakers unlock creativity on the defensive end — Harding’s Stockton Kings had the fourth-best defense in the G League last season — but could help with Redick’s much-talked-about player development program.
By all accounts, Harding figures to be a great get for L.A. And if Redick had gotten his way four years ago, she would not have been available at all, with her time being taken up by helping Duke maintain blue blood status.
JJ Redick bringing in Bob Beyer
Bob Beyer, 62, is a career assistant that has been with many NBA teams over the course of his career. He made the move from college to the NBA in the early 2000s but has over 40 years of total coaching experience. He got his start as an assistant on his own college team at Alfred University after suffering an injury when he was 22.
Fast forward to 2024 and he is reportedly poised to join JJ Redick and company on the Lakers bench this season.
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