Pelicans’ James Borrego shares ‘surreal dream’ before Lakers’ JJ Redick hire

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers faced the lowly New Orleans Pelicans team that simply may be looking for a way to speed up time. This season has been painful for the team that currently has a 3-17 record, and not even a head coaching change, with James Borrego stepping into interim duties in the aftermath of Willie Green’s firing.

Borrego has his work cut out for him, and in even more painful reminder of his current predicament, he is facing the Lakers — the franchise with a head coaching vacancy in 2024 that he interviewed for, but later opted to hire first-time head coach JJ Redick, a decision that seems to be paying off for the Purple and Gold.

Nonetheless, Borrego, who grew up as a Lakers fan, shared how great it felt for him to be in the running for the team’s head coaching job.

“There was a lot going on that summer, there were a lot of interviews that summer, I think. I grew up a Lakers fan, number one, so to come here and interview for the job was so surreal and like a dream,” Borrego said in his pregame press conference, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I grew up a Lakers fan, No. 1, so to come here and interview for the job was so surreal and like a dream.” Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego reflects on being a finalist for the Lakers’ head coaching vacancy in 2024. pic.twitter.com/QF7SwXVfct

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 1, 2025

Borrego had previously been the head coach for the Charlotte Hornets, and he had a stint as an interim head coach for the Orlando Magic before that. For most of his coaching career, he’s been an assistant, spending two seasons with the then-New Orleans Hornets before embarking on a four-year stint with the Magic.

He then moved to Gregg Popovich’s bench in San Antonio before he became the full-time head coach in Charlotte from 2018 to 2022. Upon his firing, the Pelicans brought him back to be an assistant coach.

Lakers lay the smackdown on the hapless Pelicans

The Pelicans do not have their unprotected first-round pick in 2026 courtesy of the Derik Queen draft-night trade. And yet here they are, languishing as the worst team in the West and the second-worst overall (only the Washington Wizards have been worse). On Sunday, they did not stand a chance against the Lakers, being on the receiving end of a 133-121 defeat.

Borrego has his work cut out for him moving forward, and he may not be brought back to be the full-time head coach for the Pelicans if they continue on like this. But to be fair to Borrego, he hasn’t quite gotten a fair shake. The roster has been ravaged by injuries, with Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Jordan Poole, and Dejounte Murray all missing their loss against the Lakers.

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