The modern-age NBA players rarely let go of the opportunity to outmaneuver an all-time great such as LeBron James on the court. JJ Redick found success down that difficult road as a clip containing his 1-on-1 play against the 4x champion surfaced on X (formerly Twitter). Despite humiliating LeBron in that instance, the 39-year-old humbly declined to take credit for it sighting the outcome as a reason behind it.
With the caption, “Throwback to when JJ Redick broke LeBron’s ankles,” the post captured Orlando Magic’s Redick going up against Miami Heat’s James back in March 2012. The scores remained tied at 94 during overtime with slightly more than seven seconds left on the shot clock. Amidst the anticipation, JJ chose to isolate LeBron by slowing down the play from outside of the three-point arc.
The shooting guard found a vacated space near the top of the key as he aimed to penetrate that area on the court. James followed the Magic star’s movement closely as he refused to allow his opponent to take an uncontested shot. The small forward’s approach soon backfired as he stepped into the trap of Redick.
The 6’4 guard stepped back immediately as LeBron’s momentum took him further away from the opposition’s player. Following this, the Akron-born attempted to move closer to JJ but he fell on the floor before getting up to contest the attempt. Despite James’ best efforts, Redick received the chance to take an uncontended jump shot in front of the home supporters. Yet, his intentions of putting his side in a lead resulted in failure as it basketball hit the rim.
Throwback to when @jj_redick broke LeBron’s ankles
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 21, 2023
The reaction surrounding the rare incident from LeBron’s career garnered the attention of JJ as he addressed it publicly. “Not a highlight it didn’t go in,” the sports analyst mentioned openly. Looking back on that moment, he even joked about his decision-making on the court. “I love that I stepped back to 22 feet for a long two and not 23 feet for a 3,” the podcaster further added.
Throwback to when @jj_redick broke LeBron’s ankles
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 21, 2023
This instance displayed JJ Redick’s long-standing admiration for LeBron James
On this occasion, the Tennessee-born was probably right to play down on the hype as he missed out on the bigger objective. Scenarios such as this one become unforgettable when the players’ actions result in a fruitful outcome for their franchise. In this instance, Redick had failed to produce that for his team in Florida as they had to fight hard again to earn a lead.
In the past, he talked about this moment several times, admitting, “It bothers me a lot and it doesn’t count as a highlight”. “It’s a cool dribble move but it’s not a highlight,” Redick stated. Although, eventually, he accepted putting James on a spin cycle in front of the Magic faithful.
This further showcased JJ’s understating of the game of basketball as he indirectly defended LeBron from public mockery. It was not his first time doing so as he previously backed the 38-year-old on numerous occasions. “He is the all-time greatest scorer,” Redick once declared before highlighting, “You could make the argument he is the most clutch player ever”.
Thus, the recent hype did not change anything around the entire equation between JJ and James. The analyst kept his stance on the matter intact in his response as it put forward the unspoken side of the NBA.
