Jerry West hears all.
The NBA icon hit back at former player and current ESPN analyst JJ Redick over comments he made about Bob Cousy and the era in which he played.
Speaking with Justin Termine and Eddie Johnson on their Sirius XM radio show in 2022, West responded to Redick's critiques of that era by saying "the game is completely different."
"I know JJ a little bit, a very smart kid and everything — but tell me what his career looked like," West told the hosts. “What did he do that determined games? He averaged, what, 12 points a game in the league?
“Tell me what his career looked like. What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 points a game in the league.” 😳
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 22, 2022
Jerry West fires back at JJ Redick’s comments about Bob Cousy playing against firemen and plumbers. pic.twitter.com/0X2Y2TuhX1
"Somewhere along the line, numbers count. At that point in time, the players aren’t what they used to be. JJ certainly wasn’t going to 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."
MORE: Redick has 'a real problem' with 'Mad Dog''s controversial take about Draymond Green
West's reply came from the context of an ESPN "First Take" segment about Chris Paul's place among the all-time great point guards.
Chris 'Mad Dog" Russo maintained that Cousy was the superior player to Paul, to which Redick replied: “Bob Cousy couldn’t dribble with his left hand."
He didn't stop there, though.
Redick went on to disparage that era of NBA basketball by adding that Cousy "was being guarded by plumbers and firemen" and played during a time when there were "eight teams in the NBA and you had to win two playoff series."
West told Sirius XM he felt the comments were disrespectful.
"JJ should be very thankful that he’s made as much as he made, and Bob Cousy, who I played against for a couple years [laid the path] … I just think it’s very disrespectful myself," he said.
West isn't the only all-time great to reply to Redick's comments on Termine and Johnson's show. Cousy himself was asked about them.
"People with less talent will always try to make a name for themselves by criticizing other people and hopefully getting some attention and perhaps increasing their credibility," Cousy said.
Since his comments, Redick's star has risen at ESPN. He became the network's top color analyst in 2024, alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke, after Doc Rivers left to coach the Bucks.
It will be interesting to see if his comments resurface after West's death at age 86, which is coinciding with Game 3 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
