JJ Redick Said NBA Wives Are "Single Parents for Nine Months Out of the Year" — Who Is His Wife?

Now that the 2024 NBA Championships are over with the Celtics crowned as the winners, the biggest news in basketball is that JJ Redick is taking on a position as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. It will be JJ’s first time as a head coach after he’s worked in the media since his 2021 retirement. But he hasn’t done it alone — throughout most of his professional career, his wife, Chelsea Redick (née Kilgore), has been by his side.

As JJ takes a new step in his basketball career after an award-winning 15 years as an NBA shooting guard, we look towards his family so we know who to expect at the Lakers games. When the Duke legend was first brought up into the NBA by the Orlando Magic, no one could have expected that he would go into podcasting, analytics, and now, coaching.

Although JJ is a household name in the world of sports, he and Chelsea keep a relatively low profile outside of the NBA. In fact, Chelsea’s Instagram is private with just 951 followers. Even still, there’s at least a bit of information we know about her and JJ’s relationship. The two reportedly met and started dating in 2006 when JJ was on the rise as an NBA star and Chelsea was focusing on her career as a Pilates instructor.

Born May 12, 1987, Chelsea grew up in Canton, Miss., before attending Mississippi State University, where she studied elementary education and teaching. However, she decided to pivot her career and become a Pilates instructor, following her passion for fitness. And although she grew up in Mississippi, Chelsea wanted to move to Brooklyn to be closer to her twin sister, Kylee, who works in public relations.

The two married in 2010, and while JJ and Chelsea don’t often step into the spotlight, they run the JJ Redick Foundation together. The non-profit organization teaches children how to be part of a team while raising money for at-risk youth and children’s hospitals. But although they often work together and have a loving family, they still have their obstacles.

In UNINTERRUPTED’s 2017 short documentary The Process, JJ talked about how being a professional basketball player can take a toll on his family life. “The side of professional [basketball players’] wives that sort of gets glamorized and there's a perception that their lives are easy,” he shared. “But the reality is, for the most part, they're single parents for nine months out of the year. When I'm on the road, she's on her own.

“The night before a game when I'm home, I'm thinking about the game. It's hard for me to say this and admit this, but I don't even know if I'm present half the time … I'm not gonna stay in Brooklyn because my wife wants me to stay in Brooklyn. That's just not gonna happen. She knows that.”

In August 2014, JJ and Chelsea welcomed their first son, Knox Redick. In 2016, their youngest son, Kai, was born. While the family and kids are currently based in Brooklyn, that could change as JJ takes on the head coach position in Los Angeles. But being a parent also made JJ much more political.

“Especially now that you have kids, you think about everything,” JJ said to the Los Angeles Times in 2017. “You think about gun control and what that means, and what’s the best practice for that. You want your kids to grow up in a world that’s better than the one you grew up in. I’m not talking about my own family’s wealth. I’m talking about the actual world and all the issues that we have.”

While JJ is taking steps to further his career, it seems like his family still comes first. “I really care about my family. I really care about my kids. I really care about my wife. And I really care about their happiness. It's a part of the decision.”

So if they do relocate to the west coast, it’s likely that Chelsea, Kai, and Knox’s happiness played a big role in JJ’s new career path.