In a moment that has already gone viral, Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was caught on camera unleashing a blunt, expletive-laden message to rookie Bronny James during the team’s dominant 119-95 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on November 15, 2025.
“You gotta shoot the fucking ball!”
The six-word outburst from Redick came after Bronny twice passed up wide-open three-pointers in the first quarter — both set up by Luka Dončić, who threw his arms up in visible frustration each time. Bronny, making just his second career start while the injury-ravaged Lakers remain without LeBron James and several other rotation players, lasted only four minutes before being pulled. He did not return until garbage time in the second half and finished with 0 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 9:54 of action.
Dončić, who dropped a game-high 41 points to power the Lakers to their 10th win of the season, was clearly irritated on both possessions when Bronny elected to swing the ball instead of firing from the corner. But it was Redick’s sideline eruption that has dominated the post-game conversation, with lip readers and broadcast microphones capturing the raw moment in real time.
The incident marks a stark contrast to Redick’s public praise of Bronny throughout the preseason and earlier parts of the 2025-26 campaign. After a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, Redick gushed about the 21-year-old’s development in the G League the previous season:
“He is so much more comfortable and confident as a player… Skill-wise, read-wise, all of those things have improved… He’s a totally different player than he was a year ago. I thought the stuff that he did down in the G League last year was huge for him in developing a comfort level in playing at this level.”
Through nine games this season, Bronny has averaged just 11.9 minutes and has gone scoreless in five of his last six appearances, including the Bucks blowout. His confidence appears shaken after a promising start that saw him score his first NBA points against Miami and post a season-high nine against Atlanta.
With LeBron James still sidelined at the beginning of what will be his record-setting 23rd NBA season, the Lakers have been forced to lean on their depth. There is growing optimism that the 40-year-old superstar could return as soon as Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, which would mark the first time a player has ever appeared in 23 NBA seasons.
For Bronny, the harsh coaching moment from Redick — a first-time head coach who played with LeBron for years — serves as the latest high-profile growing pain in what has already been one of the most scrutinized rookie seasons in league history. Whether the public tongue-lashing lights a fire or adds more pressure remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: JJ Redick is not handling the second-overall pick from the 2025 draft with kid gloves.