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 enough, Redick had a flaming hot take about Larry Bird’s place on this specific list.
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Speaking on who the greatest three-point shooters of all time are, JJ Redick Larry Bird is not even top five.
“Objectively, he [Larry Bird] is not a top five three-point shooter. He’s just not… And the argument against that is, ‘Oh, well if he had played in today’s era, he would be a top five [three-point shooter]’. What? That doesn’t even make sense. That’s not based in reality of fact…
However, Redick cleared the air by accepting that Bird is one of the greatest player even. When asked was, what was Bird good at, the former Duke star said,
“Larry Bird was one of the greatest players ever. He was a great shooter, first of all. He was a great shooter. Incredible passer. He’s also, to me, like when I watch.. he’s another guy, who like defied a definition… [Michael] Jordan defied a definition! They’re transcendent players. That’s how I look at it.”
As he is with most NBA takes, JJ Redick is absolutely on the money with this one. Indeed, if Larry Bird played in the NBA today, he would’ve likely been one of the greatest long-range shooters ever. However, when addressing strictly his body of work, there are better three-points shooters that have played in the NBA.
When asked to elaborate further on his point by Andrew Schulz, JJ Redick continued.
“He [Larry Bird] was a good three-point shooter. Mad Dog that day said to me, ‘But Larry Bird won a three-point contest’. I’m like, ‘Are you serious?!'”
To be fair to JJ Redick, he started off by saying that players of every generation should be respected by fans for what they did in their respective eras. And even in the middle of his monologue, he didn’t seem to have the intention of disrespecting absolutely anybody. Really, he was only trying to acknowledge that as the game has changed, there were aspects that fans needed to acknowledge, something that factors into the list of the greatest three-point shooters ever in a massive way.
As for the former NBA player’s opinion on the matter, it isn’t hard to see why he said what he did. After all, his point is based in fact. While Larry Bird absolutely had the potential to be one of the top-five greatest three-point shooters of all time, his body of work does not suggest that he ever achieved that status. Is he one of the greatest shooters ever? Absolutely. Is he one of the greatest players of all time? Without a doubt.
However, is Larry Bird one of the top-five greatest three-point shooters of all time? Perhaps due to the restrictions of his era, he likely isn’t.
Jerry West isn’t a fan of JJ Redick’s opinions
‘The Logo’ Jerry West has talked about his and Bob Cousy’s era on multiple occasions, saying that it was a generation of ‘Plumbers and Firemen’. He would later justify this by saying that he earnestly meant no disrespect by it, and that the statement, in the most factual sense, was true. During that generation, the greats of the game were working as plumbers, and firemen, alongside many more professions, something that hindered them from practicing in the sport of basketball as much as the players of today do.
Unfortunately for one of the greatest shooters ever, Jerry West was only given the ‘Plumbers and Firemen’ part of the quote by Sirius XM Radio during a 2022 interview. Responding to Redick’s claim, the following is what the legend said.
“Obviously the game is completely different. The athletes are completely different. And I know JJ just a little bit, very smart kid and everything. But tell me what his career looked like. What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 points per game? Somewhere along the way, number count. At that point in time, players aren’t what they used to be.
JJ certainly wasn’t going to guard the elite players. And so, you can nitpick anyone. And the only reason that I’m talking about him, is because he was not 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 argument was more than a bit agreeable. However, he was done the disservice of not being given the full context of the quote. JJ Redick had made it clear that he did not mean to respect the players of the past. He was just trying to make the point that today’s players were better because they were allowed to have more time to give to the game.
Unfortunately, the events transpired as they did, and it remains unknown if the two have made up since. Given the logical person Redick has proven himself to be though, it is likely that he has at least tried to reach out to the NBA legend personally.
