“Neither LeBron James nor Kevin Durant, Elgin Baylor is best small forward”: Celtics point guard responds to JJ Redick’s ‘plumbers and firemen’ comment with a massive statement

Celtics legend Bob Cousy had something to say to defend the players of his generation one of his takes is a dig at LeBron James.

Comparing the greatness of athletes is a highly subjective matter that gets millions of answers from people of different levels of knowledge about the sport. And nobody’s top-x list is generally acceptable to anybody apart from them.

Recently JJ Redick, while defending Chris Paul’s greatness after his meltdown in the series against the Dallas Mavericks, said something that he wouldn’t say when he’s not in a heated discussion.

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The former Clippers’ sharpshooter while asking Chris Russo to not compare pre-80s NBA to the current league because of the lack of competing teams and overall competition, said that Bob Cousy never shot above 40% in his whole career when guarded by Plumbers and Firemen.

Bob Cousy hits back at JJ Redick

Cousy is one of the most celebrated point guards in Boston Celtics’ history, who won them their first-ever championship in 1957. He also won his only MVP that season and then went on to lead a team alongside Bill Russell who’d win 5 more championships.

He averaged 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game throughout his 14-year career, getting 13x All-Star selections. After his retirement, the Celtics team won 5 more titles in the next 6-years.

Although they were the only dominant team in that era, Bob has come out defending himself and his era’s legacy against JJ’s statement.

“I guess [Wilt Chamberlain] must have fought fires as well”

NBA legend Bob Cousy reacts to J.J. Redick’s comments about Cousy playing against “plumbers and firemen” with @termineradio and @jumpshot8 pic.twitter.com/D4x9TVmvlD

— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) May 19, 2022

He also went on to say something about his rival Elgin Baylor which might catch even more attention.

Bob Cousy has Elgin Baylor as GOAT small forward over the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant

The Celtics’ legend was all praise for the players of his generation throughout his interview with SiriusXM. The 6’1 point guard believes that Elgin Baylor, who played against the Celtics in the decade when there was barely any answer to their dominance, is the greatest Small Forward to ever play the game of basketball.

“Still the best, in my judgment, small forward that ever played the game, a guy named Elgin Baylor,” Cousy said.

Baylor spent his entire career with the Lakers never winning a championship. An 11-time All-Star, he averaged 27.4 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in his 14-year NBA career and is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time.

He has been on NBA’s (35th, 50th, 75th) anniversary teams alongside Bob but neither of them would be in anybody’s top-10 on anyone’s list who’s following basketball since the 80s.

Also read: “Wilt Chamberlain averaged 3.8 women and 24.6 rebounds in the Finals”: Kevin Love pokes fun at Warriors Legends’ NBA stat line

In fact, nobody apart from Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain would make it there. And so, saying Baylor is the best Small Forward when arguably the second-greatest player of all time, if not the best, LeBron James, also plays that position, is just as bad and opinionated as Redick’s take.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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