After announcing his retirement as a player last month, longtime NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick has officially confirmed his next step — he’s joining ESPN as a basketball analyst, according to Joe Reedy of The Associated Press.
As Reedy details, Redick will contribute to a number of ESPN’s studio shows and will also work some games during the 2021/22 NBA season. He’ll make his debut in studio on November 3 during ESPN’s Nets/Hawks broadcast.
“After 15 years in the NBA, I am excited to take what I have learned on the court and be able to provide my insight and strong opinions about the game I love,” Redick said in a statement. “I am thrilled to have found a place on the biggest platform in sports, ESPN. I look forward to starting my post-playing career with such an incredible organization.”
The fact that Redick is transitioning into a media role rather than exploring a coaching role or a front office position doesn’t come as a surprise.
Even while he remained active as a player, the former Duke standout hosted his own podcast, The Old Man and the Three, and didn’t mind bluntly sharing his opinions on that platform, like when he criticized Pelicans executive David Griffin in March for the way he handled Redick’s exit from New Orleans.
Griffins a terrible GM