Magic Johnson makes a mistake in his post about the Lakers hiring JJ Redick

February 20, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; NBA great Magic Johnson before the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Magic Johnson seems to approve of the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (even if he can’t quite figure out the name yet).

The Lakers made their long-awaited hire on Thursday, naming former NBA guard JJ Redick as their new coach. Redick, a first-time head coach with no previous NBA coaching experience, will get a four-year contract for a significant amount of money.

Retired Lakers legend Johnson commented on Redick’s hiring in a post on his X-page. He said he was cautiously optimistic about Redick … but also referred to him as “JJ Reddick.”

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I’m cautiously optimistic that this new addition will be a success for both the Lakers and JJ Reddick. I enjoyed watching him as a player: great three-point shooting, high basketball IQ, passion for the game and mental and physical toughness. If he can show how he played professionally…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 20, 2024

Johnson also repeated the incorrect spelling “Reddick” in a subsequent post about the Lakers’ next steps.

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Naming a head coach was just the first step. Even bigger than naming JJ Reddick as Head Coach, Rob Pelinka’s next step must be improving the roster as we compete against all the powerful teams in the West like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Suns,…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 20, 2024

In fairness to Johnson, Reddick is the most common last name. Numerous notable sports figures, including New York Jets All-Pro Haason Reddick, ex-Houston Astros champion Josh Reddick and NASCAR driver Tyler Reddick, have all spelled it this way.

But Redick is the only one who matters to the Lakers right now. Johnson seemed very excited about the Lakers’ potential to hire UConn head coach Dan Hurley earlier this month. But with that ultimately failing and Redick now becoming the consolation prize, it appears Johnson still has some warming to do.