Richard Jefferson & JJ Redick

[sasquatchBob]

and the third guy are the best broadcasting crew in the league. Actually a pleasure to listen to!

[KnixtapeH20]

no Richard Jefferson is a moron

and Mike Breen, Walt Clyde Frazier, Gus Johnson are hands down the best it isn't even close

AL Trautwig was great too

[iLLmatic860]

I miss breen jvg and mark jackson trio

[chilluminati]

Yeah they have been since they both were employed a year or two ago to do so in my eyes. I'd always rather listen to current ex NBA players over an old head from past eras tbh.

[Phreak50]

They actually weren't as bad as I thought they'd be. Quite decent actually.

Breen is annoying the more you listen to him because he doesn't know anything about basketball and even today on his 2nd or 3rd Spurs game dropped a couple of WembanYANA. Just pathetic.

[FluLikeSymptoms]

I do not care for RJ’s schtick. Think he makes stuff worse.

[cupcakesnake]

While I can understand why some might find RJ annoying, I don't, and I agree with OP that this group is the best announcing experience for national broadcast games that has come along in a while. They're both candid, have senses of humour, keep up with the discourse, and keep expanding their bball knowledge as broadcasters. The former player thing is nice, but you can tell that these 2 have put in the work to become more than just ex-players who lean on story time from back in their day. JJ has a lot of integrity as a journalist type, while also seeming connected to fan perspectives. RJ brings a ton of energy and is a good court jester in terms of making fun of everyone.

I remember listening to RJ guest on JJ's podcast last year while I was driving across the country. In the more relaxed environment of a podcast, Richard Jefferson was so funny. He legit had me laughing out loud a lot in the middle of a 17-hour drive.

[shrink]

I’ve watched these guys on ESPN. I have a lot of respect for JJ Reddick, but I wonder if he’s too good for the network, and will fight it when ESPN producers force him to sacrifice his integrity making hot takes about the five teams and stars that drive ratings?

I feel like Jefferson is also smart, and he seems to want to improve his knowledge, doing radio now and training as a ref. I definitely understand people getting tired of the schtick (ego-centric guy feuding with Perkins). Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it seems like he knows this is schtick, and you see him struggling to keep a straight face when the camera goes off him.

By contrast, I’ve seen ESPN trying out Austin Rivers. Very smart, and probably trained from birth to be a great analyst. But if he’s on stage with Perk and Jefferson, he’s boring - the other two suck all the oxygen from the room. He doesn’t have a “brand.” Both he and JJ are excellent podcasters though.

I blame TNT for ESPN’s decision to put guys like Perkins on the air. Charles Barkley has been an entertaining, hot take guy since he was a player, and other networks seeking TNT’s ratings are putting people on the air hoping to find that charisma, even if it doesn’t include decent, and up to date, basketball knowledge. But that’s tv.

[Mavrelous]

RJ and JJ keep taking jabs at each other, but the PBP iiisss goooood, and JJ jas good takes, I agree it's a good combo.

[jasonxxx102]

Why don’t people like RJ? I think he’s great

[Rainwater]

Bring back Jeff and Mark

[cgf]

No...Clyde & Breen...but I do enjoy RJ & JJ's b****iness.

[danvato]

no Richard Jefferson is a moron

and Mike Breen, Walt Clyde Frazier, Gus Johnson are hands down the best it isn't even close

AL Trautwig was great too

homeless homer homering for the penn station homeless)

[JustBuzzin]

They suck.

Bring back the OG trio of Breen/Jackson/JVG.


I miss JVG arguing what's wrong with the league. And I miss Jackson saying "Momma There Goes That Man!"

[whatisacenter]

I like all the new common tators and and can't believe people miss potato heads MJax and JVG.

[Lalouie]

and the third guy are the best broadcasting crew in the league. Actually a pleasure to listen to!

jefferson is funny

reading all the complaints over the years. it always sounded like realgmer's care A LOT about gleaning info from the broadcasters - like WHY,,,,i thought all you guys were already savvy basketball nerds?????

i only care if they're entertaining, otherwise why sit through 2.5 hours of this sh***

what they should do is have something like what the mannings do in their telecasts. or just have ex-players talk like their sitting in their living room watching the game

[SilentA]

I’ve watched these guys on ESPN. I have a lot of respect for JJ Reddick, but I wonder if he’s too good for the network, and will fight it when ESPN producers force him to sacrifice his integrity making hot takes about the five teams and stars that drive ratings?

I recall he did fight it once: https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1740h2r/jj_redick_our_producer_is_in_my_ear_trying_to_get/ (clip deleted but I'm sure it's out there somewhere)

But I think also Adam Silver's comments about wanting more meaningful commentary that explain the game (and less "they played harder" simplistic takes) might be a sign that ESPN could catch up soon if it affects their business deal with the NBA.

[HotelVitale]

Don't mind them. Over the past 3-4 years I've found RJ's points to be shallow and his personality to be pretty troll-ish, but I also don't expect maximum intellect or grace from commentators. Being able to have any thought beyond cliches, and actually knowing who the players they're talking about are, is fine.

Redick's best thing IMO is when he thinks up and researches responses to bigger topics or debates, and there's not much opportunity for that in a game broadcast. So he becomes less sharp or insightful in that setting, while RJ's lack of concern for making legit thoughtful points matters less. Definitely better than old guys though so together they're all good with me.

[Johnny Bball]

RJ is great to have on a game. Don't know what you all are on.

[Lalouie]

I’ve watched these guys on ESPN. I have a lot of respect for JJ Reddick, but I wonder if he’s too good for the network, and will fight it when ESPN producers force him to sacrifice his integrity making hot takes about the five teams and stars that drive ratings?

I feel like Jefferson is also smart, and he seems to want to improve his knowledge, doing radio now and training as a ref. I definitely understand people getting tired of the schtick (ego-centric guy feuding with Perkins). Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it seems like he knows this is schtick, and you see him struggling to keep a straight face when the camera goes off him.

By contrast, I’ve seen ESPN trying out Austin Rivers. Very smart, and probably trained from birth to be a great analyst. But if he’s on stage with Perk and Jefferson, he’s boring - the other two suck all the oxygen from the room. He doesn’t have a “brand.” Both he and JJ are excellent podcasters though.

I blame TNT for putting guys like Perkins on the air. Charles Barkley has been an entertaining, hot take guy since he was a player, and other networks seeking their ratings are putting people on the air hoping to find that charisma, even if it doesn’t include decent, and up to date, basketball knowledge. But that’s tv.

jj lost his integrity once he joined espn. he's WAAAYYYY better on his pod

the diff between a pod and espn is the diff between an actor choosing to be in a small film with no limits and lots of artistic self gratification over a big budget movie who's primary purpose is to bring in box office so it can recoup the 100million it spent in production