"If I don't improve my body, then I'm not gonna make it in the NBA" - Former player J.J. Redick describes his preparation, says he changed his training regime after being affected by injuries
J.J. Redick is widely regarded as one of the best collegiate athletes of the 21st century due to his illustrious four-year career at Duke University. Redick, however, took some time to find his stride in the NBA, battling injuries early on. He recently shared that he had to change the way he trained in order to establish himself.
On his podcast, "The Old Man & The Three," Redick said:
"Me sort of getting punched in the mouth early in my career. By the end of my second year, I realized I've got to train differently. I've gotta work on all the things that I don't naturally have, and so I became very diligent because of that.
"Whether it was tearing two abdominal muscles and my back injury my first year with the Clippers where I missed half the season, I approached my core training differently. I approached how I took care of myself a little differently, but for me, it wasn't an injury. It was more about, if I don't improve my body, then I'm not gonna make it in the NBA."
Following his first season with the Clippers, Redick, who had never played 70 games in back-to-back seasons, did so in five straight seasons. He went on to have an impressive 15-year career before retiring and transitioning into his current role as an analyst.
Watch J.J. Redick's comments on his training changes below (starting at the 14:45 mark):
Ben Simmons opened up to J.J. Redick about passed-up dunk
Ben Simmons has been marred in controversy since passing up an open dunk that would have tied Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2021. The Philadelphia 76ers went on to lose the game and Simmons, who has not played since, was eventually traded, at his request.
During a recent appearance on "The Old Man & The Three," Simmons opened up about the play:
"It happened so quick that you just make a read, and in the playoffs you need to make the right decision the majority of the time. ... It looks terrible. When I look at it now, I'm like, 'Man, I should've just punched that s**t,' but it didn't happen, and I was OK with that. I can live with that.
"Everyone's trying to kill me over one play. Does everyone want to watch film with me? The whole arena, I can dissect everything if you guys want, but that's not realistic."
Simmons said that he was guarding the other team's best player the entire game. While Simmons is certainly not the player some fans have made him out to be, everything that happens in the playoffs is placed under a microscope.
Watch Ben Simmons and J.J. Redick discuss Simmons' passed-up dunk below:
Ben Simmons and @jj_redick revisit the passed-up dunk in Game 7 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Watch the full episode: youtu.be/HT1n31Wh0P0 https://t.co/HR7HHIpWeT