Just a few months ago, JJ Redick made headlines with a comment about the older generation of basketball players.
He downplayed the competition NBA Hall-of-Famer Bob Cousy faced during his illustrious career, suggesting today’s era of players are better. “He was being guarded by plumbers and firemen,” Redick said on First Take.
Well, one of the players who dominated that era has something to say. NBA legend and logo Jerry West thought Redick’s comments were disrespectful.
“Obviously the game is completely different. The athletes are completely different. I know J.J. a little bit, a very smart kid and everything — but tell me what his career looked like,” West answered. “What did he do that determined games? He averaged, what, 12 points a game in the league?”
West didn’t stop there. He made it clear Redick was never an elite player, so he shouldn’t “nitpick.”
“Somewhere along the line, numbers count. At that point in time, the players aren’t what they used to be,” West said. “J.J. certainly wasn’t gonna 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.”
What do you think of West’s comments?