The contradictory approaches of Eddie A. Johnson and JJ Redick have finally pitted them against each other. Notably, Johnson is a firm believer in the NBA stars from the past and takes no bullsh*t on them. Meanwhile, Redick’s claim that the league was watered down during Michael Jordan‘s prime has already elicited a lot of backlash from the basketball community. So Johnson decided to get back at Redick which started an interesting conversation on X.
As expected, Johnson responded with severe criticism against the former Orlando Magic guard for his claim. “So says a guy who was 6 years old when the 90’s started! We would have tested your manhood quickly! If anything you would have been relegated to serving water to the veterans until you manned up,” he posted on X.
The 65-year-old further stated that the analytic brains of the 90s would have run Redick out of the league. Meanwhile, a series of replies led to Redick accusing Johnson of attacking his basketball career every time the former Magic star brought up an era.
“I love that whenever I bring up a point about an era…you attack ME and my career. It’s funny. That’s all. Keep at it Eddie!” Redick posted in one of his replies. However, Johnson disagreed to this, stating Redick needs to revisit the time when he called JJ a tremendous shooter and fundamentally sound. It is worth mentioning that this argument stemmed from an X user, Dave Ross, backing Redick on his claims.
He alleged Johnson got triggered because JJ probably hit a nerve with his claims being close to right. Ross further explained that no one is calling the 90s a soft era but just that the talent level was reduced due to the expansion in 1989.
Analyzing JJ Redick’s bold Michael Jordan claim
No one can deny that Michael Jordan has had one of the best careers in NBA history. He has had achievements in his name, which a lot of NBA athletes can only imagine. Some of the most prominent ones include 6x NBA champion, 6-0 NBA Finals record, and 6x Finals MVP.
And coming to JJ Redick’s claim — “league was a little watered down during Michael Jordan’s prime” — there is a misrepresentation of facts for this one. Firstly, the addition of 4 of the 6 teams that Reddick mentions took place during the 1988-89 period. This was the phase where Michael Jordan had his focus on overcoming the Detroit Pistons in order to win his first championship title.
In fact, the Pistons claimed the championship during the said addition of teams to the league. And when MJ claimed his first championship, he did that by overpowering both the Pistons and Magic Johnson’s LA Lakers. So Redicks claims do not hold much value in terms of Michael Jordan’s legacy.
