"HE POSTED ME UP…ELBOWED ME IN THE SIDE OF THE HEAD" - JJ REDICK ON WHY HE DIDN’T GET ALONG WITH HEDO TURKOGLU
In order to be successful in the NBA, you have to at least be civil with your teammates. Playing for at least 82 regular season games, and even more once the postseason rolls around, means that these guys are often spending tons of time with each other on a daily basis.
For the most part, players are consummate professionals when it comes to putting aside their differences as they work towards a common goal. But sometimes, guys just don't get along, and JJ Redick revealed that was the case with himself and Hedo Turkoglu.
JJ's feud with Turkoglu
Redick broke into the NBA in 2006 with the Orlando Magic, where he played with Turkoglu for three seasons. As a bright-faced rookie, JJ was intent on working hard to prove that he belonged in the league.
Hedo, the veteran who knew the ropes a bit more, didn't appreciate Redick's eagerness, especially regarding practices. As a result, he would take shots at JJ, which upset the sharpshooter because he was simply trying to perfect his craft.
"My rookie year, he didn't like that I would play hard in practice," Redick said on The Big Podcast. "There was one time, and I'm trying to survive, I'm trying to get playing time, he posted me up, looked at me, elbowed me in the side of the head. Two practices later, I got a break away, he undercuts me, gets thrown out of practice. By the end of the year, we kind of became friends, so I'm thinking this is good. We started going to dinner on the road together, hanging out on the plane; this is good."
"Second year comes, in shootaround in Charlotte, again, I'm not even doing anything… We're going live and same thing, posted me up, looked at me, looked at me, bam, hit me. That time, I actually got a black eye, so I gotta go to lunch an hour later with my parents, and they're like, 'What happened?' And I'm like, 'Oh, Hedo hit me,'" JJ added.
No escaping Hedo
Redick insisted on giving it his all in practice, while Turkoglu didn't necessarily see it as beneficial. The two clashed as a result, and the retired sharpshooter still holds a grudge for how the Turkish forward treated him early on in his career.
Hedo was traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2009, but he eventually ended up back on the Magic in 2010, where he spent two more seasons with JJ. The two again reunited for two more seasons in 2013, when they both ended up on the Los Angeles Clippers.
While they don't seem to be mortal enemies, it's clear Redick doesn't exactly appreciate how Turkoglu conducted himself. Eventually, they just got used to playing alongside each other, but that doesn't necessarily mean they enjoyed doing it.
After the 2014-15 season, Hedo called it a career, meaning that JJ no longer had to worry about being teammates with him. And given how frequently they played together, that was surely a relief for Redick.
2024-07-02T10:24:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd