“Ask Dwyane Wade If ’08 Was Easy!”: JJ Redick Defends Brandon Ingram, Explains Difficulty of Winning Gold at International Stage

JJ Redick has made a name for himself for perhaps building an unprecedented way of playing assessments. Recently, on his podcast “The Old Man and The Three”, Redick went into the details about what it means to compete on the global stage, be it the World Cup or the Olympics. Alluding to the former greats, Redick recalled the 2008 D Wade and Chris Paul’s historic saying that it was not easy for them either. He also defended Brandon Ingram’s performance in the FIBA World Cup.

The USA team’s performance in the FIBA World Cup 2023 has been nothing short of shameful. During the entire span of the FIBA World Cup, the defending Olympic champions lost three matches. However, despite the loss, the total salary of these players was been staggering $204,000,000 in the season. 

JJ Redick defends Brandon Ingram’s poor performance in FIBA World Cup

As good as Brandon Ingram has been in the NBA, in the last few seasons, his performance in the FIBA World Cup has been an eye-opener for many NBA scouts. In the series, he has averaged 5.7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

Speaking on Ingram’s performance JJ Redick said that playing international teams isn’t easy. He said even players like Wade and Paul found it difficult when they won it all. 

“You go back to 08, you go back to 12, bring up 21, we had some of the greatest teams ever assembled in basketball in terms of talent. And I believe too in terms of fit. Those teams won gold. Ask D Wade if 08 was easy, ask CP3 if 12 was easy, ask Book if 21- it’s not easy at this level to win gold. And I think we need to reframe the entire conversation. But most importantly we need to stop with FIBA, NBA. This guy “Oh he got exposed.” What the fu**! Fine, he got exposed in FIBA, it doesn’t mean Brandon Ingram isn’t an all NBA player.”

The Americans finished fourth in the World Cup. Their last two losses came against Germany and Canada. Owing to this, several NBA players have urged Team USA to gather the best players for the 2024 Olympics.

Shaquille O’Neal urges LeBron James to gather the best USA Team for 2024 Olympics

The US Team has been a disappointment in Manila, in the FIBA World Cup. The embarrassment was even worse after the NBA’s title of world champion was questioned by the new track athlete sensation Noah Lyles. Apparently, according to the reports, the USA team for the 2024 Olympics has already started the recruitment process, and it involves some of the biggest names in the NBA. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Basketball Forever (@basketballforever)

In the midst of all this, Shaq, who has a clean Olympic record outside the NBA, has urged LeBron James to get the star-stuffed team involving Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry. The combined money these three players make is $222,546,678. The number itself is a testament to the elite force that the USA needs, going into the void.