Retired NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick turned heads earlier this year after he seemed to dismiss the league greats of yesteryear for playing against what he characterized as weaker competition.
Redick specifically name-checked Celtics legend and Hall of Famer Bob Cousy as having competed against "plumbers and firemen," apparently alluding to the time before the professionalization of sports, when some players even had jobs in the offseason.
Cousy himself, now 93, didn't appreciate Redick's backhanded jab, responding by rattling off a long list of Hall of Famers who were his contemporaries. And now, another Hall of Famer and league icon, Jerry West, is sticking up for Cousy and the older generation.
West doesn't seem to think Redick has the bona fides to be critiquing Hall of Famers:
"Obviously the game is completely different," West said during a recent radio appearance. "The athletes are completely different. I know JJ a little bit, 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 in the league?"
West went on to explain that Redick was essentially a specialist and not an "elite" player:
“Somewhere along the line, numbers count. At that point in time, the players aren’t what they used to be," West said. "JJ certainly wasn’t going to guard the elite players. And so you can nitpick anyone. The only reason I’m talking about him is he was not an elite player. He was a very good player. But he had a place on a team because of his ability to shoot the ball."
Redick, 38, has transitioned into the media game after hanging up his sneakers after the 2020-21 season. He hosts a podcast, The Old Man and The Three, and has made several appearances on ESPN's "First Take," where he initially made his comments about Cousy and the older generation.
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