JJ Redick: “Since when is it players’ jobs to educate people on basketball? When did that become a thing? Isn’t that our job? I do that as my job. That’s my job to educate people on basketball. Here’s the reality – this is the ecosystem that we live in. I can do a video on my podcast where I break down the last nine games that the Pelicans have used Zion Williamson as the primary ball handler and what type of actions that has led to. I looked it up this morning, 54,000 views on YouTube. But I want to call out a coach [Doc Rivers] yesterday – that gets tens of millions of engagements. That’s the ecosystem that we live in. So do fans actually want to be educated or not?”
Rob Parker: “NO, JJ REDICK, WHAT DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?? All that coach-speak and all this other stuff, people don't wanna hear that. That’s what coaches are into. How many times have we watched Charles Barkley -- is he breaking down the game?? He doesn’t even know half the players that are playing, c’mon. But they want to hear what Charles has to say about the other stuff. JJ, c’mon man. Break it down on a basketball game, tell me about the screen, tell me about that in a game [while announcing], but that’s not what people tune in for. They want people’s 'takes'. ‘What do you think of this?’ ‘Did you like the All-Star Game?’ ‘Did you not like the All-Star Game?’... Not any kind of technical mumbo-jumbo. NOBODY wants to hear that. That’s you trying to flex your muscles and tell us how smart you are with basketball. He’s just missed the boat and doesn’t understand.
It’s not just that people want you to rip people and that’s the only thing they care about, it’s about your take on stuff – good, bad, or indifferent. That’s what you’re up there for. There’s a time and place for ‘technical’ stuff. Those geeks and those nerds who like that stuff, there’s plenty of places for them to find it. Most of this stuff is too technical that people don’t want it.
I think the best color analyst in basketball is Doug Collins. I think Doug Collins broke the game down without going too deep, he was a coach. I used to love to listen to Doug Collins when he was doing the games because he could break it down without being too technical, and without being too high brow like ‘HEY, I’M SMART! I KNOW THESE THINGS! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!’... He never talked down to the viewer. It’s a delicate thing to do without being too high brow.
You can’t be in this space and then go ‘THIS IS DUMB!’ Like, what are you doing there? GET OFF THE SHOW, JJ! GO DO NBA FILMS! THERE’S A LANE FOR THAT. GET OFF FIRST TAKE! HELLO, JJ? {taps microphone} GET OFF OF FIRST TAKE!... That’s what made it popular, ‘takes’, not ‘first diagrams’, or ‘first plays’, that’s not what it is.”
Watch Rob Parker of Fox Sports Radio’s The Odd Couple call out ESPN NBA analyst JJ Redick, after the former NBA player turned studio host went on a rant during ESPN’s First Take show about the absurdity of sports fans wanting to constantly hear hot takes and potshots towards players, coaches, and teams instead of actually wanting to be educated about the sport that they’re following.
Redick was referring to his now-viral take calling out Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who coached Redick while he was a member of the Clippers, and questioned why that one particular segment ripping Rivers garnered so much attention, while videos he’s done breaking down the X’s and O’s of basketball go mostly unnoticed.
Check out the segment above as Parker mocks Redick for the irony of him not comprehending the sports talk industry he signed up for, telling Redick that if he has a problem with the idea of studio hosts giving their takes and opinions on sports topics, then maybe he should get out of the business.
Michael Strahan Revealed Setback in Daughter's Brain Cancer Battle
Jason Whitlock Says the 'Woke' Media Could Eventually Destroy Caitlin Clark
Jason Smith: Dak Prescott Wanting $60 Million a Year Should Make Everyone Laugh
Rob Parker: Cowboys Should Demand that Dak Prescott Take a Pay Cut
Doug Gottlieb: Disaster of the NBA All-Star Game Damages LeBron's Legacy
Suspect in Chiefs Parade Shooting Had GoFundMe Page
Jason Whitlock: NBA All-Star Game Confirmed 'Basketball is Dead' in America
NFL Legend Revealed Russell Wilson's Next Team
Kansas City Chiefs Parade Shooter Told Police He Was 'Just Being Stupid'
Rob Parker Says a LeBron 'Farewell Tour' Would Turn Into a 'Good Riddance' Trolling