LeBron James and JJ Redick launched their Mind the Game podcast last year in the hopes of elevating the basketball conversation and bringing the spotlight to elite level Xs and Os dialogue.
A year later and Redick is coaching James with the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though everyone pretty much assumes the podcast was a launching point for Redick’s move into coaching, and specifically with James in Los Angeles, the show’s producer went on record to state that wasn’t the case.
Understandably, the podcast was put on hiatus once LeBron James and JJ Redick started working together for real. But on Wednesday, it was revealed that Mind the Game was making a return with former MVP and Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash in the seat opposite of James in place of Redick. New episodes return to YouTube and Prime Video on April 1.
It makes sense that Redick and James wouldn’t necessarily team up for this one. It’s not like the Lakers’ coach and star player are going to break down their playbook in detail for the entire world to see. And while it seems like players at all levels are able to play just fine while hosting their own podcasts (except for maybe Paul George) it’s clearly another story for coaches. You can just ask Doug Gottlieb how that experiment went while trying to coach Green Bay while maintaining his daily Fox Sports radio show.
Back when JJ Redick was hired by the Los Angeles Lakers, he said the show would hopefully continue, just without him. Now that Steve Nash is on board, it will be interesting to see how he interacts with LeBron James and the insights he will be able to provide as one of the greatest point guards ever. And if he just so happens to follow the Mind the Game pipeline back to another gig on the sidelines, that will be an added bonus.