JJ Redick surprisingly blames LeBron James for Lakers' recent struggles

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost their way recently. 

Following a 19-7 start to the 2025-26 campaign, the Lakers have lost three of the last four games and don’t appear competent on either end of the floor. 

Surprisingly, head coach JJ Redick believes LeBron James is largely responsible for the franchise’s struggles.

“I really believe in getting back to basics and understanding the needs of the team and each guy, creating more clarity,” Redick said after the Lakers’ 125-101 loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day. 

“I know having played that what can seem very simple up there isn’t simple once you’re in real time and live action. It’s not going to happen in a day, but we have to get back to building our defensive fundamentals.”

“Since we’ve gotten Bron back, we haven’t been as organized offensively. Too many random possessions."

While many may disagree with Redick’s assessment, there’s truth to what he conveyed. The Lakers’ offense had far more pop and discipline when James was sidelined with sciatica, leading to more successful offensive possessions. 

Now that the four-time NBA champion is back in Los Angeles’ rotation, the Lakers’ offense has become stagnant and out of sorts more often than not, making it challenging for the organization to be highly effective on that end of the floor. 

It also doesn’t help that James isn’t the committed defender he used to be during his prime NBA years. 

Simply put, while James isn’t the sole reason the Lakers are underperforming, he certainly has a lot to do with their late-December shortcomings.

More NBA: Proposed blockbuster Warriors trade lands $179 million former Nuggets NBA champion forward