Philadelphia 76ers: J.J. Redick went from legend at Duke to leader in Philly

After an amazing college career at Duke and a solid 12 seasons in the NBA, J.J. Redick has reinvented himself as the new leader with the Philadelphia 76ers

The Golden State Warriors‘ Steph Curry is arguably the greatest shooter of all time. He can launch and make 3-pointers from anywhere once he cross half court. He is the shooter that kids at the playground, on AAU teams, in high school and playing in college are trying to be like.

Curry has made the art of shooting 3-pointers cool, but before him, many NBA fans forget that J.J. Redick was another 3-point shooting sensation who similar to Steph, could make 3-pointers from almost anywhere after crossing half court.

Redick at one point was thought to be the can’t miss basketball star unlike Curry who was scouted as a mediocre three star recruit by Rivals, a major recruiting service who ranks high school players from 1-5 stars. Curry also did not make any major recruiting service Top 100 basketball players list for his 2006 recruiting class.

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The heavily recruited Redick, on the other hand, was a 5 star recruit by Scout.com, a 4 star recruit by Rivals, was ranked the consensus No.11 player in the nation according to RSCI, and was the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game before he arrived at Duke University.

Once at Duke, Redick would start 30 games as a freshman while averaging 15 points a game. During his college career, he would score 30 plus points on some of the best teams in the country. He was so good to the point that people hated him. They hated how good he was and how their school could not stop him. He was a king on the basketball court and everyone knew it. When the game was one the line, most people thought, “ oh no, not again” when he had the ball in clutch moments.

The Redick hate would lead fans to resort to insults and name-calling at his games. At one point CBS Sports’ Clay Travis named him the most hated athlete in America, but somehow, Redick ignored the hate and became arguably the greatest shooter in Duke basketball history as he ended his career as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, FT percentage and career points.

Redick also ended his college career with back-to-back ACC Player of the Year awards and several National Player of the Year awards as it began to look like he would become the 3-point shooter who would change the game.

However, any thoughts of Redick lighting up the NBA like he did at Duke ended as he averaged under 10 points in each of his first four seasons with the Orlando Magic. Redick did rebound to have a really good 13 year NBA career, but he was never considered the best 3-point shooter in the league like a Curry or a Ray Allen.

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Even today when the media talk about the best 3-point shooters in the league they start with Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Kyle Korver. Still, Redick impact on this league has been undeniable, especially with the young Philadelphia 76ers as his leadership and 17.1 points a game last year helped the 76ers finish with third best record in the Eastern Conference. This year, Redick is averaging a career best 18.5 points for the 30-17 76ers.