Tim Hardaway slams JJ Redick for his comments on old-school players: "He gotta be a damn fool"
Although JJ Redick recently retired and became the newest ESPN analyst, one of the biggest headlines revolved around him lately has been the controversial statements made on his podcast "The Old Man and the Three." Redick went on a rant regarding the NBA Top 75 List, basically saying how most of the old-school players couldn't play in today's NBA. That obviously didn't sit well with a lot of people, as Redick comments got some responses, even from NBA legends.
Redick's point of view
We already wrote about this topic in-depth and shared the good and the bad sides of Redick comments, but to summarize it shortly: JJ wanted to give appreciation to some of the current NBA players that missed out on the NBA Top 75 List, like Dwight Howard, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson. But in doing so, Redick wanted to emphasize how much more talented these guys are than some of the players from the '50s and '60s on that list.
A valid point, as Redick acknowledged the historical value and impact of the old-school guys but still explained how there is a vast difference in talent when comparing the players head to head. Redick maybe went a bit too far saying Austin Rivers would be a Hall of Famer in that era or that Kevin Love is better than 99% of power forwards on the list, which caused various reactions from the NBA world. A lot of them negative.
Tim Hardaway Sr. slams Redick
Former NBA player, legend, and one of the best, most infamous dribblers in NBA history, Tim Hardaway had something to say about this topic. Tim got asked how he would fare in today's NBA, but he used that as an opportunity to mention Redick comments and harshly criticize JJ:
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"I'm glad you asked that question. Somebody was telling me that JJ Redick on his podcast said that guys from the '90s, '80s couldn't play in today's game and do what they was doing back then. He gotta be a damn fool. He gotta be out his rabbit mind to ever think and have something to say some stuff. "
Tim Hardaway, ">Fanatics View
Hardaway would go on and share why his generation would dominate even in today's NBA:
"We would be monsters. The way we grew up and the tenacity we had in our games, the confidence, how we worked on our games, and the competitiveness we all had, we would be monsters in today's game. No question."
Tim Hardaway, ">Fanatics View
Hardaway's response would be justified and totally acceptable if that was what Redick actually said. It seems like Tim got some misinformation because Redick definitely wasn't saying guys like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, or Michael Jordan couldn't hang in today's NBA. Redick was instead referring to certain guys like Dave Bing or Dolph Schayes that largely benefited from playing in such a weaker NBA.
Most of the players in the '80s and '90s were just as athletic as players today, if not even more. The only thing they would lack is the shooting ability, but I'm pretty sure they would adjust and pick it up quickly. If Redick actually refereed to that era, his comments would be blasphemous, just like Hardaway Sr. thought. But considering JJ talked about the pioneers of the NBA, somebody should inform Tim that he got some false news.
