Fans speculated that JJ Redick‘s relationship with Anthony Davis might need some repair after it was found that the former did not vote for the Lakers forward to enter the NBA’s All-Defensive Team for 2024. To avoid tension in the future, Redick justified this decision a few days back through NBA’s radio SiriusXM. He ultimately pinned the blame on team defense as the reason why he did not vote for AD. This settled the controversy on social media, but not for a long time. Here is a new revelation that might prove that Redick’s justification does not make much sense. 

The new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers shared, “There’s a big difference in being a top-ten defender, and making an all-defense team.” Redick believes Davis is one of the best defenders. However, the Lakers coach also weighed “heavily on how the team performed defensively.” So according to Redick, the Lakers as a team were not great in defense, thus AD did not get an All-Defensive Team vote. 

Contrasting to Redick’s view, a YouTube page ‘Lakers Nation‘ came up with some interesting observations to make a case for AD. The Lakers finished as the 17th-best defensive team in the 2024 regular season. This can be ranked as average. Anyhow, this is not the elephant in the room. 

‘Lakers Nation‘ also revealed, “If JJ had just picked guys of the top five or top ten teams in the NBA, alright I understand…But Victory Wembanyama was in his top ten.” The San Antonio Spurs finished as a 14th seed in the latest season. Coming to the defensive rating, they were ranked 21st. However, Redick cast a vote for the French Alien.   

A deeper look into JJ Redick’s possible double standard 

There is another player who does not fit into Redick’s criteria but got a vote from him. That will be Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls. Caruso was one of the best on-ball defenders last season. He made it to the All-Defensive Second Team, but Redick voted for him to get into the First Team. However, the Chicago Bulls were ranked 22 in defensive ratings. 

Redick wanted to vote for someone from the Oklahoma City Thunder as well. They were the 4th best defensive team in 2024. So he gave his final vote to Lu Dort from the Thunder. This was another controversial choice. Dort did not make it to either of the All-Defensive teams.

So, it’s safe to say that Anthony Davis also deserved a vote from Redick as he fulfills the 40-year-old’s criteria. If Redick still believes that the Lakers forward should not get a vote, then Alex Caruso and Wembanyama do not deserve his vote either.

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