JJ Redick revealed why coaching the Lakers has been a dream come true.

At this time last year, JJ Redick was a rising star in the NBA media world.

A member of ESPN’s lead broadcast team alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke and host of two highly successful podcasts – The Old Man and the Three and Mind the Game with LeBron James – the 39-year-old had a clear career path after playing 15 NBA seasons.

Redick’s charismatic personality, encyclopedic knowledge of the NBA and love for basketball schematics were an instant draw on broadcasts and podcasts.

But those qualities led him to trade in his microphone for a whiteboard when he accepted the Los Angeles Lakers’ head-coaching job last summer.

Midway through his first season, he has no regrets.

“There’s not a single night [I regret it]. When my workday gets done, I’m excited for the next day,” Redick said. “Mike [Breen] and I were actually talking about it the other night after Boston. He sent me a nice text. Something I felt very deeply in my soul last spring [is] that I was supposed to be coaching. And every experience so far has reinforced that, even the bad, tough days. I mean, those are inevitable in an NBA season. So I love it all. And I wanna be clear, too, I didn’t have a cushy job [in broadcasting]. I was grinding. I had like four jobs.”

Following a tumultuous start to the season, Redick has earned praise for the job he’s done with Los Angeles.

JJ Redick holds no regrets after leaving broadcasting to coach Lakers

The Lakers opened the year 20-17, adding to the widespread belief that their championship window around James and Anthony Davis had closed.

However, they won 11 of their next 13 games, after which they shook the NBA world by acquiring Luka Doncic.

Redick’s squad has won 10 of 13 games since the bombshell trade. Despite losing one of the league’s top defenders in Davis and playing with a backcourt of Doncic and Austin Reaves, Los Angeles ranks third defensively following the deal.

The extended hot streak has moved the Lakers into the Western Conference’s second seed at 40-22. While concerns about their defensive makeup persist, they have the offensive firepower to pose a threat in the playoffs.

And with Doncic as their centerpiece, Los Angeles and Redick will be at the forefront of the NBA conversation fot the foreseeable future.