Deandre Ayton left confused by JJ Redick’s praise of his defense
With The Los Angeles Lakers close out the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday night, 112-108, came with a solid defensive effort, with even head coach JJ Redick shouting center Deandre Ayton for his performance. As the Lakers big man’s teammates in Ayton called him incredible for his season so far, the 27-year-old would downplay his exit in response to his head coach.
In the win over the 76ers, Ayton would record 14 points on a perfect shooting night, making all seven of his attempts from the field to go along with 12 rebounds and a +10 from the field. However, when Redick praised his defensive performance, Ayton didn’t get it, although he thanked him for the praise.
“(I’ll) be real: I don’t know what (Reddick) is talking about. I don’t even know. I said, ‘What do you mean?’ I just do what I have to do. I thank him, but I don’t know what I did there,” Ayton said, according to the account “Oh, no, he didn’t” on X, formerly Twitter.
Deandre Ayton when asked about his defensive effort:
“I’ll be real: I don’t know what (JJ) is talking about. I don’t know. I’m just doing what I have to do. I thank him, but I don’t know what I did there.” pic.twitter.com/c6IVj4jMFo
— Oh no, it’s not (@ohnohedidnt24) December 8, 2025
Lakers’ JJ Redick shouts Deandre Ayton’s defensive outing
After an Luka Doncic’s unreal performance for the Lakers against the 76ersrecording 31 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, it would be the team’s defense that stifled Philadelphia when it mattered. Redick would point that out in the postgame press conference, singling out Ayton in particular “distracting” game.
“We gave up 60 points in the first half and then to come back in the second half and defend the way we did was great,” Redick said. “And I thought he led the charge especially on that end of the floor for us. We were just talking about it in the locker room; he did a bunch of things.
“He was down as a disruptor,” Redick continued. “He was getting loose balls. He was blocking shots. He was switching to (Tyreese) Maxey. Whatever we needed him to do on that end of the floor in the second half, he was great.”
Either way, Ayton and Los Angeles continue their 17-6 streak heading into Wednesday’s next game against the San Antonio Spurs.
2025-12-08 17:18:00
