On-court banter in the NBA sometimes reaches a stage where the players remember those moments forever. In the latest episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast, the host JJ Redick revealed one such instance in the presence of Cam Thomas. Interestingly, the story from JJ’s playing days involved certain remarks from Devin Booker which gave the incident a proper completion.
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During Redick’s time with the Philadelphia 76ers, the franchise acquired TJ McConnell as a part of their backcourt. Despite TJ’s capabilities, the entire roster used to be frustrated with the point guard because of one particular reason. “We used to all get mad at TJ McConnell when he would pass up open threes,” the 39-year-old stated before adding, “He just really did not feel comfortable shooting threes”.
The shooting guard thus went to talk to a mid-20s McConnell, as he broke down the game plan to inject confidence in him. JJ explained, “Dude that’s the shot that the offense created. We are not gonna get a better shot. You have to f**king shoot it”. Following the talk though, the situation still did not change much as the 76ers faced the same problem soon after.
In a game against the Phoenix Suns, Redick highlighted, “Everybody is touching the ball, we work it side to side, end of the shot clock. They swing it to TJ in the corner”. “He takes about three seconds to decide whether or not to shoot it. Gets down in his squatted position and then at the last second, swings me the ball with like 1.7,” he mentioned. JJ eventually failed to make the shot count under that much pressure as the Eastern Conference side lost possession.
Following that incident, the duo shared a light-hearted moment while reflecting on the sequence. “TJ was like my little brother and I was joking and I got on him about throwing me the grenade,” Redick stated.
It caught the eyes of Booker as the Suns’ star sided with TJ on this occasion to poke fun at the latter’s teammate. As JJ highlighted, “Devin Booker said to TJ, he goes, ‘JJ, what a loser. That’s not winning basketball'”. Luckily, in the end, the mockery did not turn into anything serious as years later, the host shared a good laugh about it with his viewers and crew.
What happened next to JJ Redick and TJ McConnell?
JJ entered the 2006 NBA Draft as one of the top prospects as the Orlando Magic selected him as the 11th overall pick in the first round. Although it took him nearly a decade to become a starter in the league, the shooting guard was lethal from the deep. With career averages of 44.7% from the field goal and 41.5% from behind the 3-point line, Redick was a major contributor to the current style of basketball.
As for TJ, his journey to the league has not been that straightforward. After going undrafted in 2015, he entered the 76ers through the Summer League. The 31-year-old is currently representing the Indian Pacers in the NBA coming off from bench. Captivatingly, he registered his career-high 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage, and points per game in the last season.
So, it seems both of them have contributed to the league and their teams throughout their careers. With both of them gathering years of experience in the league, someday they may sit together to share more stories such as this for the audience.
