JJ Redick Shockingly Elaborates on His Controversial Larry Bird Take

JJ Redick recently appeared on the ‘FLAGARENT’ podcast alongside famous comedian Andrew Schulz. During their session together, the former NBA player was asked about many different aspects of the NBA, including his take on the greatest shooters of all time. And interestingly, Redick had a fiery view about Larry Bird’s place on this specific list.

Speaking of who the best three-point shooters of all time are, JJ Redick Larry Bird isn’t even in the top five.

“Objectively, he [Larry Bird] He is not a top five three-point shooter. It’s just not… And the argument against that is, “Oh, well, if he had played in the current era, he would be in the top five.” [three-point shooter]’. That? That doesn’t even make sense. That is not based on reality in fact…

However, Redick set the record straight by agreeing that Bird is one of the best players. When asked what Bird was good at, the former Duke star said:

“Larry Bird was one of the greatest players of all time. He was a great shooter, first and foremost. He was a great shooter. Incredible pin. He is also, to me, like when I look at him… he is another guy, who defied a definition… [Michael] Jordan defied a definition! They are transcendent players. That’s how I see it”.

As with most NBA shots, JJ Redick is absolutely on point with this one. In fact, if Larry Bird played in the NBA today, he probably would have been one of the best long-range shooters of all time. However, when you strictly approach his job, there are better three-point shooters who have played in the NBA.

When Andrew Schulz asked him to elaborate on his point, JJ Redick continued.

“He [Larry Bird] He was a good three-point shooter. That day Mad Dog told me, “But Larry Bird won a three-point contest.” I say, ‘Are you serious?!’”

To be fair to JJ Redick, he started by saying that fans should respect players of each generation for what they did in their respective eras. And even in the middle of his monologue, he didn’t seem to have any intention of disrespecting anyone at all. In reality, he was just trying to recognize that as the game has changed, there were aspects that fans needed to recognize, something that massively influences the list of the best three-point shooters of all time.

As for the former NBA player’s opinion on the matter, it’s not hard to see why he said what he said. After all, his argument is based on facts.

While Larry Bird absolutely had the potential to be one of the top five three-point shooters of all time, his body of work does not suggest that he ever achieved that status. Is he one of the best shooters of all time? Absolutely. Is he one of the best players of all time?

Definitely.

However, is Larry Bird one of the top five three-point shooters of all time? Perhaps due to the restrictions of his time, he probably isn’t.

Jerry West is not a fan of JJ Redick’s opinions

‘The Logo’ Jerry West has spoken about his and Bob Cousy’s era on multiple occasions, saying it was a generation of ‘plumbers and firefighters.’ He would later justify this by saying that he seriously meant no disrespect and that the statement, in the most factual sense, was true.

During that generation, the greats of the game worked as plumbers, firefighters, among many other professions, something that prevented them from practicing the sport of basketball as much as today’s players do.

Unfortunately for one of the greatest shooters of all time, Sirius legend.

“Obviously the game is completely different. Athletes are completely different. And I know JJ a little bit, very smart guy and all. But tell me what his career was like.

What did he do to determine the matches? Did he average 12 points per game? Somewhere along the way, numbers matter. At that point, the players are not what they used to be.

JJ certainly wasn’t going to defend elite players. And then, you can criticize anyone. And the only reason I’m talking about him is because he wasn’t an elite player. But he was a very good player. But he had a place on the team because of his ability to shoot the ball.

Jerry West’s plot was more than enjoyable. However, he did her a disservice by not receiving the full context of the quote. JJ Redick had made it clear that he did not want to respect the players of the past. He was simply trying to make the point that today’s players were better because they were allowed more time to devote to the game.

Unfortunately, events happened as they did and it is unknown if the two have since reconciled. However, given the logical person Redick has proven to be, it’s likely that he at least tried to get personally close to the NBA legend.