A video has resurfaced of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West going in on JJ Redick after the Lakers head coaching candidate criticized the level of competition West faced in his NBA career. West shook with rage while hearing Redick’s quote and did not hesitate to throw the pitfalls of his own career right back in his face.
What did Jerry West think of JJ Redick?
In a quote about Hall of Famer Bob Cousy, the former Los Angeles Clippers sharpshooter had referred to players of West’s era as “firemen and plumbers.”
When the interviewer read the quote to West on Sirius XM NBA Radio back in 2022, you could immediately see “The Logo” tense up, shake his head and physically cringe at Redick’s slanderous words. He channeled all the frustration into his response, holding nothing back about Redick’s career.
“Tell me what his career looked like. What did he do that determined games?” West said of the former Duke standout, who had just retired from the NBA at the time of the interview. “He was not an elite player.”
Jerry West passed away at age 86
The tense interview looks much different in hindsight. Redick is now a leading candidate for the Lakers head coach job, just months after starting a podcast with LA’s star player LeBron James, which ironically centers around basketball history and knowledge of the game.
Meanwhile, the NBA is mourning Jerry West after the news of his death at age 86 arrived on Wednesday. West was an NBA champion, an NBA Finals MVP, a 14-time All-Star, and helped author eight more titles as an executive with the Los Angeles Lakers. Mr. Clutch was already inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame twice for his NBA and USA Basketball achievements, and will likely be enshrined a third time after his death.
Odds are, West was involved with the Lakers’ ongoing coaching search, which has swayed from Dan Hurley back to JJ Redick in recent days. Who knows how much weight his old opinions of Redick still hold, but there’s no denying that the situation is much different now. Regardless who the Lakers hire, they lost a legend who will never be replicated.
