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Letters to Sports: Lakers hiring JJ Redick shows how far they've fallen

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Letters to Sports: Lakers hiring JJ Redick shows how far they've fallen

The Lakers hiring JJ Redick as head coach validates the scholarly thinking that the only difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.

Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo

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Why would LeBron James agree to let JJ Redick take the reins of the Lakers? A man with no bench or managerial experience at the NBA or college levels? Easy … he’s coachable.

Paul Feinsinger
Agoura Hills

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With the passing of Jerry West, this question has to be asked? Does anyone believe that JJ Redick or anyone else with zero coaching experience would have been hired if he was still running the Lakers. Who’s next? Doris Burke? Seventeen NBA championships might be it for quite a while.

Tom Krug
Playa Del Rey

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Bill Plaschke got it right! The Lakers are foolish in hiring a guy as head coach who has no coaching experience. Some of us would have used a stronger word than foolish.

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What Mr. Plaschke didn’t say is the Lakers also hired a general manager in Rob Pelinka whose only qualification was being Kobe Bryant’s agent. What do you expect from that guy?

Dr. Buss is rolling over in his grave as his team of past glory goes down the drain.

Michele Patterson
Palos Verdes Estates

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It kills me to say I agree with Bill Plaschke on anything but this time he knocks it out of the park, including his parting shot at Bronny James.

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If the Lakers wanted to have a mouthpiece for the over-the-hill LeBron why not make him a player-coach? This entire sickening process just shows how far the once-great franchise has fallen. As Plaschke so accurately points out, how is it possible that they couldn’t hire a first-class quality coach? The answer is simple, just like Hurley no one with a brain wanted this job no matter the money.

Go on Lakers, make it official and take Bronny and prove you have truly hit bottom!

Jay Slater
Los Angeles

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People are so quick to deem that JJ Redick can’t succeed because he’s never coached before.
How many corporate CEO’s actually know how to manufacture the gadgets their company’s sell; or the intricacies of shipping? It’s not like JJ isn’t steeped in basketball savvy.

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Henry Ford attributed his success in large part to his willingness to surround himself with “eagles.” I say give JJ the chance to build his nest and then let’s see how they soar.

David Griffin
Westwood

Title talk

So Magic Johnson says he hates that the Celtics now have more championships than the Lakers? I’m not sure why since he set Boston up for the next decade by selecting Lonzo Ball over Jayson Tatum in the 2017 NBA draft because he needed a point guard to “run the show.” Never mind Lonzo couldn’t shoot and didn’t seem to care one bit when Magic called him the “face of the franchise” during his first visit to the Lakers training facility. But this is another, if perhaps most egregious, thing Magic did while running the Lakers show that hurt the team more than helped. And don’t get me started on the cowardly way he quit!

Danny Balber Jr.
Pasadena

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Now that the Celtics have won the title, the Lakers can trumpet that they beat the champs in Boston on Feb. 1 (despite playing without LeBron and Anthony Davis), in addition to promoting their in-season tournament championship.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

That’s Rich

Rich Paul, LeBron and Bronny James’ agent, is quoted as saying, “There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, [LeBron] will re-sign. If that was the case I’d force them to take him at 17.”

Well, that makes it official: Rich Paul is the de facto GM of the Lakers.

Rhys Thomas
Valley Glen

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Open and shut case

Shouldn’t your golf headline be “DeChambeau given Open title”? And not subtitled “inspired by [Payne] Stewart,” but “the recipient of two terribly short putts missed by Rory McIlroy at the end.” Poor Rory, it hurts the rest of us bad enough when we miss a $2 putt.

Joel Athey
Valley Village

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Pundits and fans alike will be saying “Rory choked at the U.S. Open,” but this is literally untrue. He went 46 for 48 putting inside 3 feet over the weekend. He had three birdies on the back nine in the final round (and a fantastic par save on 17th hole.) Missing two short putts down the stretch magnifies their impact, but carding a 69 is hardly a choke.

Brad Kearns
Stateline, Nev.

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Deal him out

So, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford apparently wants a new deal or to at least renegotiate his current contract since he is no longer guaranteed any money, although he is under contract for two more years at tens-of-millions of dollars a year, and the market for QB salaries continues to increase. How about this, Matt, honor your contract! How many Rams fans can go to their supervisor and get a raise or a guarantee they will be paid their full salary even if they do not work (“play”).

Enough with spoiled, self-centered athletes. The Lakers have enough of those for L.A., the Rams do not need more.

Matt Clarke
Hawthorne

Say, hey, it ain’t so

Willie Mays played for the hated San Francisco Giants and I was a die-hard Dodgers fan — yet he was my favorite player.

Enough said.

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Steve Kaye
Oro Valley, Ariz.

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I am 71 years old. I have always been a Dodger fan. I have always hated the Giants. But I have always loved Willie Mays.

I only wish that Vin Scully was still around to deliver a eulogy that we would never forget.

Eric Monson
Temecula

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The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

Email: sports@latimes.com

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.

Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.

“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.

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Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.

He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.

After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.

“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”

MAGIC’S ANTHONY BLACK MAKES INCREDIBLE DUNK OVER FOUR DEFENDERS IN HISTORIC NBA GAME

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Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida.  (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.

He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.

Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.

He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.

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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.

Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.

Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.

It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.

In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.

Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.

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Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.

After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June. 

But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract. 

White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card. 

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Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City.  ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))

“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”

White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it. 

UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT

The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan. 

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On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter. 

UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026.  (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)

“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready. 

“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”

Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.

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Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote. 

The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.

Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion. 

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