Jerry West Calls Out Former NBA Player

Morgantown, West Virginia – Former West Virginia Mountaineers basketball star Jerry West is known as one of the kindest, most professional people in all professional sports. However, West, 84, didn’t hold back his thoughts about what he felt were disrespectful comments by former NBA player JJ Redick.

Redick appeared on a show called “First Take” and got into a debate about whether Bob Cousy or Chris Paul was a better point guard. Redick downplayed Cousy’s competition, saying that he played against “plumbers and firefighters.”

West appeared on SiriusXM NBA with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson, and he was asked about Redick’s take on Cousy. West had the following to say: “Obviously the game is completely different. The athletes are completely different. I know J.J. a little bit. He’s a very smart kid and everything, but tell me what his career looked like. What did he do that determined games? He averaged, what, 12 points a game in the league?

“Somewhere along the line, numbers count. At that point in time, the players aren’t what they used to be. J.J. certainly wasn’t gonna guard the elite players. And so you can nitpick anyone. The only reason I’m talking about him is he was not an elite player. He was a very good player. But he had a place on a team because of his ability to shoot the ball.”

“J.J. should be very thankful that he’s made as much as he made, and Bob Cousy, who I played against for a couple years…I  just think it’s very disrespectful, personally.”

Redick, who played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, averaged 12.8 points per game as a professional during a 16-year career. He now hosts a podcast/YouTube show called The Old Man and the Three. Redick has not yet responded to West’s criticism of his remarks.

Watch West on SiriusXM NBA Radio below: