JJ Reddick is a recently retired NBA player who went on to become an on-air sports analyst for ESPN. He is a veteran shooter and spent 17 years in the league. Since then, he has appeared alongside several other sports commentators and has become a part of the media. NBA legend Jerry West seems to have issues with some of the recent statements Reddick has made.
One must wonder what a recently retired NBA player could have possibly said to upset an 84-year-old man. Therefore, it is important to know the background of their interactions in order to understand why the tensions have now escalated.
Jerry West has a problem with JJ Reddick calling previous players firemen and plumbers
Comparing athletes from different eras seems to be the go-to entertainment for sports analysts nowadays. Initially, players of the modern generation were criticized for being “too soft” and always complaining and asking for foul calls. While this must be true to some extent, one must be deluded to believe that players in the past never complained about bad foul calls or rough plays on the court.
As time passed, this led to a stereotype being formed suggesting that modern-day stars would not survive in previous eras. JJ Reddick was sick of these constant stereotypes propagated by old heads. As a result, he went in a different manner on one of his takes calling the players of the past plumbers and firemen.
The NBA as a business developed greatly during the time of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. However, the players in the early days also had to balance working other jobs in the offseason. This was to maintain their livelihoods and sustain their families as there was not enough money on the table for them at the time.
Jerry West was asked about JJ’s comments and what he thought about these comments. He did not hesitate to fire back at Reddick and responded to these statements on NBA Radio.
” I know JJ just a little bit and he’s a very smart kid and everything, but tell me what his career looked like? what did he do that determined games? He averaged what 12 points a game I believe. Somewhere along the way numbers count. JJ certainly wasn’t going to guard the elite players...”
“What did he do that determined games? He averaged, what, 12 points a game in the league?”
The Logo is not happy with JJ’s recent take đ
(via @SiriusXMNBA)pic.twitter.com/507oGns5bx
â Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 23, 2022
West is the inspiration behind the modern-day NBA logo. Moreover, he averaged 27 points in his career and even has an NBA title to back his legacy. Therefore, he decided to pull rank and shut Reddick down for these statements made.
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