Bob Cousy claps back at JJ Redick

[ReggieSlater]

JJ even says the all time greats could play in any era. It's just impossible to compare them against each other, for many reasons listed in the clip. You can only get so far. People are making way too much of this.

[First Step]

JJ even says the all time greats could play in any era. It's just impossible to compare them against each other, for many reasons listed in the clip. You can only get so far. People are making way too much of this.

Not really… JJ was being patronizing by saying that, and then downplaying Cousy’s accomplishments by saying he played against plumbers. I don’t think Cousy would disagree that there has been evolution in the game. Cousy is saying Redick is trying to cut down the trees in the forest to make himself seem taller.

[70sFan]

Cousy destroyed this fool with class.

[mj234eva]

Just ask yourself this, would you want the former MVP Bob Cousy from 56/57 running point for your team in 2022?

No, no you wouldn't

This is bad. Like, really bad. Do you even understand how bad this take is? I'm guessing not.

[dlts20]

Chris Broussard with a great take

Watch on YouTube

[shakes0]

Just ask yourself this, would you want the former MVP Bob Cousy from 56/57 running point for your team in 2022?

No, no you wouldn't

This is bad. Like, really bad. Do you even understand how bad this take is? I'm guessing not.

just read the rest of the page you posted on. He obviously doesn't understand who ridiculously stupid his comment was. But, then again, what type of intelligence does it take to make that comment in the first place? Probably a good bet you can't reason and use logic with a person like that.

[VFX]

JJ even says the all time greats could play in any era. It's just impossible to compare them against each other, for many reasons listed in the clip. You can only get so far. People are making way too much of this.

They are absolutely making a meal out of this off handed sound bite.

The level of overall talent has gotten better in the nba since that era. JJ isn’t saying there weren’t great players in that era as well, and that Cousey wasn’t one of the greats for that era.

The average non-star nba player today would probably look pretty good if placed in that time and the nobodies wouldn’t be on the bench today.

[rzzzzz]

With the exception of what ever Crispier Chinese are being bred (which reminds me of the Firesign Theatre’s In the Next World You’re on Your own cover, where baseball players have been genetically fused with insects), some of you guys are absolutely whack about how fast evolution works. Like over thousands of generations, not in just a few decades. Amongst the billions of homosapiens produced the last couple thousand years, there has always been a variety of sizes and levels of athleticism. Jim Thorpe would still be seriously talented these days, just as Mozart and Shakespeare, given favorable circumstance, would still be capable of developing into historic geniuses. You think Russell would be prevented from developing his superior court awareness and metaphysical toughness because he didn’t have sports drinks or had to wear the old Converse sneakers? Or that the Kareem-Hakeem brothers would have difficulty scoring points or snagging rebounds in today’s game? How much better would Jerry West have been if he could open up the court with the 3 point rule change? If you want to argue that we got talent from the whole world to choose to develop, that’s fine. Of course you also got a lot more teams diluting it. Which sort of makes the self-chosen super teams today a little more like the better teams of the 60’s in terms of benefitting from playing alongside top talent. Personally, from the level of discourse you’re more likely to run into these days, I’m less convinced we harvesting Nietzsche’s supermen, than devolving into Idiocracy.

[fansinceforever]

The players now are still far and away more athletic and more skilled on average. I don't think JJ said there no good players...

[iLLmatic860]

Just ask yourself this, would you want the former MVP Bob Cousy from 56/57 running point for your team in 2022?

No, no you wouldn't

Cousy would have Kyrie handles in 2022 no cap

[ReggieSlater]

With the exception of what ever Crispier Chinese are being bred (which reminds me of the Firesign Theatre’s In the Next World You’re on Your own cover, where baseball players have been genetically fused with insects), some of you guys are absolutely whack about how fast evolution works. Like over thousands of generations, not in just a few decades. Amongst the billions of homosapiens produced the last couple thousand years, there has always been a variety of sizes and levels of athleticism. Jim Thorpe would still be seriously talented these days, just as Mozart and Shakespeare, given favorable circumstance, would still be capable of developing into historic geniuses. You think Russell would be prevented from developing his superior court awareness and metaphysical toughness because he didn’t have sports drinks or had to wear the old Converse sneakers? Or that the Kareem-Hakeem brothers would have difficulty scoring points or snagging rebounds in today’s game? How much better would Jerry West have been if he could open up the court with the 3 point rule change? If you want to argue that we got talent from the whole world to choose to develop, that’s fine. Of course you also got a lot more teams diluting it. Which sort of makes the self-chosen super teams today a little more like the better teams of the 60’s in terms of benefitting from playing alongside top talent. Personally, from the level of discourse you’re more likely to run into these days, I’m less convinced we harvesting Nietzsche’s supermen, than devolving into Idiocracy.

It's not about biological evolution, but of improvements with conditioning and training regiments. You are absolutely correct that the greats in those eras, when you combine them with everything we currently have and understand today many would be vastly superior. I can't imagine how great Wilt would be now days. JJ isn't saying any of that, just that you can't compare Cousy to Paul. And to everyone bemoaning Redick for being the mean one, remember he's defending Paul against character assassination. If Paul can take the heat, so can Cousy. They both have big boy pants.

[dhsilv2]

JJ even says the all time greats could play in any era. It's just impossible to compare them against each other, for many reasons listed in the clip. You can only get so far. People are making way too much of this.

what are the odds anyone here even knows the clip? It was on ESPN...if it isn't a game no respectable person is watching that crap!

[dhsilv2]

Just ask yourself this, would you want the former MVP Bob Cousy from 56/57 running point for your team in 2022?

No, no you wouldn't

Cousy would have Kyrie handles in 2022 no cap

Possible. Just not the foot speed or shooting needed to be in the league.

[dhsilv2]

- They played in Chuck Taylors. How many of you own a pair of Chucks? Wonderful shoe. I dig them. But I'd NEVER even consider playing basketball in them. They're atrocious as an athletic shoe.

There are two types of shoes you wear to workout. Chucks. And no shoes at all! Now basketball, yeah gonna pass. Walking more than 100 feet? Yeah not wearing chucks. Working out? Chucks 100%

[JShuttlesworth]

Just ask yourself this, would you want the former MVP Bob Cousy from 56/57 running point for your team in 2022?

No, no you wouldn't

This is bad. Like, really bad. Do you even understand how bad this take is? I'm guessing not.

just read the rest of the page you posted on. He obviously doesn't understand who ridiculously stupid his comment was. But, then again, what type of intelligence does it take to make that comment in the first place? Probably a good bet you can't reason and use logic with a person like that.

You sound like a triggered child, just because I don't agree with you

[Nate505]

I don't even get the "plumbers and fireman" comment. Does he really believe that NBA players back then were plumbers who just happened to dress up and play basketball whenever there was a game?

To me that's the dumbest part of his quote. Saying Chris Paul is a better player than Cousy? Fine. I've seen many Top 10 PG lists and I can't remember a single one that has Cousy over Paul in them. I'm guessing that's a pretty consensus opinion. But that dumb line by Redick makes it sound like he played against people who weren't professional basketball players during his time.

[GamecockFan1024]

Really starting to dislike JJ Redick. His takes on ESPN lately have been AWFUL. It's like he's terrified to say something bad or negative about a current player.

[Blame Rasho]

Before all this back and forth we have discussed this before on the boards.

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=986713

It is interesting to reread that thread

[Fencer reregistered]

I haven't read the whole thread but can someone reference me what Bob Cousy is responding to exactly? I don't really listen to Reddick......

Reddick said this about Bob Cousy:

"He was being guarded by plumbers and firemen"

Like, ok, it could even be true in a sense that then the average salary in the NBA was $15k a season in 1960 (about $150k today), so while they weren't poor by any means that some of them may have worked as plumbers and firemen in the off-season for a little extra money, I doubt that was their primary job and they played in the NBA on the side. Unless fireman and plumbers just made a ton of money back then.

Basketball was their main job. But:

-- There were real tough financial decisions between playing and something else. Cousy almost opened a driving school. Sam Jones almost became a teacher.
-- They had offseason jobs or whatever to make more money. Baseball players did too, at least into the 1960s. E.g., my father had Willie Crawford of the Dodgers reporting up to him in a retail store. Tom Heinsohn had an insurance "company" (I presume it was an agency, but that phrasing is rarely used).

Speaking of those names, Cousy founded the Players Association and Heinsohn got it recognized by the owners.

[Ein Sof]

Redick is a complete moron.

If Cousy was allowed to travel, carry, etc. in today's game, he'd look like a whole different player. He would average around 60 ppg & 25 apg on today's soft defenses.