Krzyzewski, the Hall of Famer who led Duke to five national championships over a 42-year tenure, admitted he’d been watching the Lakers especially closely this season, per Rabona Shelburne of ESPN.Around the height of that defensive surge, he sent a text to his former player and now first-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick, joking, “Who the hell would’ve predicted you could teach defense?”.
He later told ESPN, “What they’re doing seems very simple, but it’s actually a lot of preparation. They make it where the other team’s lower-percentage shooters are taking more shots.Los Angeles has been buzzing since the Lakers ripped off a strong winning streak back in February, right around the same time they traded for Luka Dončić.
This massive swing vaulted them from the league’s 20th-ranked defense over the first three months of the season to first overall.
Without their best defender, L.A. held Jalen Brunson to 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting and Karl-Anthony Towns to 17 on 3-for-12 in a 128-112 win at Madison Square Garden on February 1, 2025.
