JJ Redick’s Internal Struggles Led to Josh Tiven Altercation; Spills the Bean on Infamous Ejection

One doesn’t often associate JJ Redick with getting aggressive on the court. But his getting ejected during a New Orleans Pelicans vs Boston Celtics game back in 2021 was a memorable moment. For those who don’t remember, the ejection came after Redick had tossed the ball too hard at referee Josh Tiven. Notably, he had already received a technical foul for complaining. However, it turns out it was not just the heat of the moment that caused Redick to throw the ball a little too hard. Appearing on The Dan Le Batard Show, the ex-Orlando Magic star opened up on self-issues that led to the incident.

This was during the last season of his career when even he could feel the end coming closer. And he admitted on the podcast he was not mentally prepared to let it all go until a certain moment. The 39-year-old stated he stopped being the person he used to be. And his body language and facial expressions reflected that. Even Josh Tiven had himself asked JJ if he was fine before the game that witnessed the infamous ejection.

“And I didn’t know how to respond to that. I’m nine minutes away from competition. And so I went back in the locker room and. And cried a little bit,” Redick said. He further recollected coming out for the game.

However, he stated he was a little ornery that day. “Josh gave me a technical for yapping or something because I thought Aaron Smith fouled me. And then the very next possession, I spun the ball a little too aggressively at him (Josh), and he tossed me out,” he revealed.

The ex-Magic star confessed that his mental peace was not in place during the phase. However, as per his claims, it was still not intentional on Redick’s part to throw the ball at Josh. “I thought the guy closest to the scores table was making the call to the scores table. It actually ended up being Josh, who was down there, and I was trying to spin it around Tristan. I put a little too much English on it,” he stated.

Further backstory to the incident leading to JJ Redick’s ejection

The ex-Magic star states that both he and Josh worked things out later. But the mental state for JJ stayed the same. He states even his parents and his assistant coach in New Orleans also figured out. “He’s like, ‘What the hell is going on with you, man? This wasn’t the guy that was here last year’… It was hard,” JJ stated.

And things only changed for him after he accepted the situation and finally decided to let it go. This happened after his wife sent a photo of his youngest son running to the Christmas tree. It was the moment JJ Redick stated he made up his mind to retire.

Read More: “I Just Want to Apologize to You”: JJ Redick Owns Up to Mistakes That Caused Awkward Consequence for ‘Man Crush’ From Celtics