As a visible voice in sports media, the worst thing you can be is milquetoast, sitting on the fence in a field dominated by loud opinions. Of course, the danger in being a card-carrying member of the “take” community is that these same voices are often dead wrong, staking their reputation to laughable arguments that, with the benefit of hindsight, seem misguided, bordering on unforgivable.
In an age where Twitter trolls are always keeping score, taking inventory of every opinion that’s ever been shared on live television, pundits like JJ Redick are required to have a thick skin, embracing his frequent gaffes with a needed sense of humor. With the 2022-23 NBA season finally in the rearview mirror, Reddick thought it would be fun to look back at some of his and other analysts’ worst takes, humorously mocking his own shortsightedness in anointing the Phoenix Suns (following their trade for Kevin Durant) as title favorites.
No one made it out unscathed with Redick roasting, among other industry talking heads, Skip Bayless, Chris Broussard, Colin Cowherd, Bill Simmons, Max Kellerman, Ric Bucher, Chris Mannix, Brian Windhorst, Dave McMenamin, Chandler Parsons, Taylor Rooks and Kendrick Perkins along with his frequent sparring partners on First Take, Stephen A. Smith and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
Redick, over the course of two harrowing minutes, paints a rich tapestry of wrongness, assembling—to borrow a phrase from Dan Le Batard—a parade of gasbags, with each asinine take more foolish than the next. It’s a useful exercise in accountability with Redick exercising a rare self-awareness, reminding audiences to hold nothing sacred in this flawed realm of sports debate, taking every prediction and opinion with a giant grain of salt.