"He's stupid... Bird played in the most physical era": Dominique Wilkins attacks JJ Redick for his bold opinion on Larry Bird
Dominique Wilkins took it upon himself to address JJ Redick after the NBA veteran-turned-analyst made controversial comments regarding Larry Bird.
While Bird has long been hailed as one of the greatest players to compete in the NBA, Redick isn't so sure that he's one of the greatest shooters in NBA history.
In addition, Redick said that Bird and his peers simply didn't have the same physicality that today's players do. Although Bird competed in an era of physical play, Redick believes fighting and hard fouls are the only major physical differences.
At the time of his comments in February, he found himself on the receiving end of criticism from Dominique Wilkins. The Atlanta Hawks legend argued that Redick didn't respect the legends of the game enough, drawing a response from Redick.
Redick said he was simply arguing against the narrative that today's players couldn't survive in the 1980s and '90s.
During a recent "DJVlad" interview that dropped this week, Dominique Wilkins addressed Redick's comments:
"He's stupid. I mean, it's a stupid comment, because Larry Bird played in the most physical era ever. He's 6-10, almost 6-11, and he was physical himself. To say that he wouldn't be able to play in his league because this league too physical, like, what league are you watching?"
Looking back at the beef between JJ Redick and Dominique Wilkins from earlier this year
Considering that Dominique Wilkins still isn't pleased with JJ Redick's comments, let's take a look back at what was said between the two men.
Things began Feb. 15 on "First Take," where Redick refuted Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's claim that Larry Bird was a top-three shooter of all time. In addition, he also questioned whether the play was more physical in Bird's era, or whether there were simply more fights and harder fouls.
After receiving criticism, he then followed up on his "Old Man & the Three" podcast:
“I didn’t disrespect Larry Bird. I questioned the narrative around physicality."
Suggested Reading: Michael Cooper lambasts JJ Redick for Larry Bird comments)
The following Tuesday, Dominique Wilkins appeared on Sirius XM's NBA Radio, where he took aim at Redick:
“First of all, Redick don’t know what the hell he’s talking about. I’m like, what basketball was he watching? To say something as idiotic as that is ridiculous. The physicality that was part of the league. … I just don’t like the disrespect. To say that about Larry Bird — less physically — is (Redick) stupid? It’s just a stupid comment to make.”
So far, Redick has yet to respond to the latest comments from Wilkins. However, that could change given his platform on ESPN.