“Lakers Sucked When I Was There”: Having Felt Like “B**tard Stepchild”, Ex-Clippers Star Recalls Living in Rivals’ Shadow

Before his retirement in 2021, JJ Redick was one of the most prolific scorers in the league. He was drafted during the 2006 NBA Draft by Orlando where he stayed until 2012. He was acquired by the Clippers in 2013, where he played for four seasons. The thing about LA is, that it is also home to one of the biggest franchises in the NBA, which also happens to be the Clippers’ rivals.

You guessed it, the Lakers. Naturally, these two NBA teams have had to share the Staple Center as their home arena. If that’s not enough, the NHL’s LA Kings also join the gang. Amid this crowd, Redick recalls that when he was with the Clippers, the team was overshadowed by the other giants.

The Clippers got the third priority

Sitting down at the Dan Patrick Show, JJ Redick remembers that the Clippers did not feel inferior as a team because then, the Lakers “sucked.” However, the issue was being sidelined from the center of attention because of just how big of a name the Lakers were. “We certainly felt like the b**tard stepchild. I mean that’s, you know, we’re in at the time Staple Center and we’re the third tenant so we get, we get the third priority,” he says.

He felt inferior as a Clippers player and it wasn’t because of the team’s performance. Referring to the LA Kings again, Redick says, “The hockey team gets better games than us.” However, he understood the situation because the Lakers was a team that had a lot of history and decades of fandom embedded in it so the priority was random.

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JJ Redick: The first active NBA player to host a podcast

In 2016, JJ Redick became the first-ever NBA active player as well as the second active pro athlete to host a podcast. In 2020, he launched his very own podcast called The Old Man and The Three. Redick retired with an average of 12.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.

With 15 years of experience in the NBA and boasting an excellent game IQ, Redick is also currently a sports analyst for ESPN. If anything, watching the man break down plays and dissect the games are telltale signs of his deep understanding of the game.

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What are some of your favorite Redick moments on the court? Let us know in the comments below!