JJ Redick calls it a career: 'Last 30 years of basketball have been beyond my wildest dreams'

Longtime NBA shooting guard JJ Redick announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday.

“Thank you to everyone who was a part of my journey and career,” he wrote on Instagram. “I started playing basketball 30 years ago in my backyard on an uneven patch of dirt, gravel, and grass. It was on that court that my dreams began to form. Reality has far surpassed my dreams.”

He jumpstarted that career on Lost Mountain Road in Roanoke, Virginia.

“The last 30 years of basketball have been beyond my wildest dreams,” he said on his “Old Man and the Three” podcast. “I never could have imagined I would’ve played basketball for this long.”

Redick, 37, spent 15 years in the NBA and played for six teams. He averaged 12.8 points and shot 44.7% from the field and 41.5% on 3-pointers.

After starring in high school and then at Duke for four seasons where he was a two-time ACC player of the year, Redick was drafted by Orlando with the No. 11 overall pick in 2006.

He began his NBA career as a seldom-used reserve, but as the 3-point shot took on more importance and Redick became a better defensive player, his minutes increased. By his fifth season, he was a double-digit scorer.

Redick became an important player for the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers, shooting a league-best 47.5% on 3-pointers in 2015-16 for the Clippers and averaging a career-high 18.1 points in 2018-19 with the 76ers.

As Redick’s children got older, he sought a permanent home for his family. Redick and his wife bought a home in Brooklyn, and Redick often commuted between Philadelphia and Brooklyn late in his career. He spent the past two seasons with New Orleans and Dallas and had hoped to sign with a team closer to home – either the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks or the 76ers.

Redick had a rough 2020-21 season – with injuries, being away from his family, dealing with COVID-19 protocols and, admittedly, not playing up to his standards.

He described last season as a “a seven-month exercise in coming face to face with my own athletic mortality. And it was scaring and confusing.”

Redick considered playing this season but concluded it was time for him “to be a dad, time for me to reflect and pause and time for me to get ready for the next phase of my life.”

Redick took meticulous care of himself to carve out a productive career. One time after a playoff game, he was in line at Wendy’s at Philadelphia’s 30th Street train station getting ready for a short trip to New York. He said the large soda was for teammate T.J. McConnell and that it had been at least a decade since he last had a soda.

He also understands the media. Redick made himself available to reporters offering insight into the game. He parlayed that into a side hustle as host of his podcast.