JJ Redick has former NBA players fired up after his comments about Larry Bird.
The 38-year-old has said he doesn’t like to compare NBA players from different eras but he was doing exactly that when he appeared on First Take with Chris Russo last week.
Russo put Larry Bird in his top three all-time shooters but Redick disagreed and said Steph Curry has already surpassed Hall of Famer Bird in that category.
The discussion got heated when Redick brought in to question the physicality of Bird’s era.
Another Hall of Famer, Dominique Wilkins was the first old head to publicly disagree with Redick’s comments and say his piece. Safe to say, he didn’t mince his words.
“First of all, Redick don’t know what the hell he’s talking about,” Wilkins said. “I’m like, what basketball was you watching? To say something as idiotic as that is ridiculous. The physicality that was a part of the league. Hey, look, when you can put your hand on a guy’s hip and make him go a certain way, and you can put your elbow in his chest a guy to slow him up — there’s not that many guys that can deal with that type of pressure.
“For JJ Redick, who played this game, I’m very disappointed that he said something so stupid.”
Redick then responded to Wilkins’ comments by saying that he “ didn’t disrespect Larry Bird”.
Now five-time champion Michael Cooper has joined in on the roasting of Redick.
“JJ Redick, who’s a journeyman, played for six different teams, all his accolades came in college,” Cooper said. “He played 15 years in the NBA, was being shifted around from team to team because all he could do was shoot, and he wasn’t that great of a shooter. He was a poor man’s Danny Ainge.
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— James Burnes (@JamesBurnes8) February 28, 2023
“That guy has no clue of how basketball was played in the 80’s and I guarantee you this JJ Redick…. If you had played in the 80s, I would’ve locked your ass up. You wouldn’t have got a shot off.
“You know what, I hate Larry Bird, but I respect the hell out of that man because I went against him in all those championships and during the year,” Cooper continued. “All we did, as the Lakers, it was all about the Boston Celtics. The respect that we had for one another was immense. I live and breathe and gauge my career by my battles with Larry Bird and our battles with the Boston Celtics.”
Stay tuned for Redick’s response…