Dan Le Batard explains how JJ Redick is leveraging ESPN, 'First Take' to boost himself

JJ Redick was back on ESPN's "First Take" this week, and it's caused quite a stir in the basketball and sports media world.

It started because Redick didn't mince words when he talked about his former coach Doc Rivers and what he believes has been a lack of accountability from the ex-ESPN broadcaster who is now the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Then on another episode, Redick ranted to Stephen A. Smith and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo about the need to "educate" the basketball audience.

"It's our job, Stephen A., to educate people about basketball," Redick said. "I can do a video on my podcast where I break down the last nine games the Pelicans have used Zion Williamson as the primary ballhandler ... 54,000 views on YouTube. But, I wanna call out a coach yesterday — Oh, that gets tens of millions of engagements. That's the ecosystem we live in. So do fans actually want to be educated or not?"

JJ Redick questions why it's the responsibility of NBA players to educate fans and questions how much fans actually want to be educated in the first place.

"I can do a video on my podcast where I break down the last nine games the Pelicans have used Zion Williamson as the… pic.twitter.com/3zJqUdZ3T1— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 21, 2024

Redick got some push back for his comments from sports media personalities like The Athletic's Mike Prada — who is known for giving Xs and Os type of analysis.

"Fandom is an experience," Prada wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "You do it by choice, not because you must, and for all sorts of reasons. So the goal isn't to educate so much as it is to enrich the experience by directing their eye to something they'd find interesting."

Fandom is an experience. You do it by choice, not because you must, and for all sorts of reasons. So the goal isn’t to educate so much as it is to enrich that experience by directing their eye to something they’d find interesting.

That goes for debate shows and Xs and Os https://t.co/1DcL2A5FKJ— Mike Prada. (PRAY-duh) (@MikePradaNBA) February 22, 2024

Related: Stephen A. Smith takes his stance on the beef between JJ Redick & Doc Rivers

Redick addressed the "First Take" segment on his podcast on Feb. 22, saying that he sees two different ecosystems in NBA media outside of the broadcast: the entertainment side and the side where fans want to be educated.

But he said his criticism on 'First Take' about educating fans was not a complaint, instead just simply a response.

"I don't think it is the players' job to educate job, it's our job, it's something I take responsibility for, it's something I take very seriously, and there's a number of people who want to do that," Redick said.

But former ESPN personality and host Dan Le Batard looked at Redick's rant from a bigger picture lens. He discussed how Redick is using the platform to boost his own brand — one that he's carried since his college days at Duke where he was one of the most hated basketball players in the country.

"What he's doing, very smartly, using 'First Take' as a tool is being on 'First Take,' being smarter than anyone on ESPN about basketball and knowing that he's both smarter than anyone at ESPN at basketball. And now condescending both the audience and the people with him on 'First Take' with a smugness that is unique to him because he's a Duke guy," Le Batard said on "The Dan Le Batard Show" on Thursday.

Le Batard continued by saying that Redick building his branding on ESPN's massive platform — and his willingness to accept whatever comes with it — is exactly what's going to make him succeed in this business.

Related: ESPN anoints JJ Redick with a massive new role

"And what JJ Redick is doing is he's now got some of the most powerful positions in sports, to be smarter than others, to remind you that he's smarter than others and that he knows it, and to deal with the consequences — because he's been a villain for 25 years — of that wildly increasing his profile," Le Batard said.

Le Batard argued that he thinks Redick's plan is going to make him a ton of money — potentially more than the $116 million he made in his 15-year NBA careers — as long as the 39-year-old decides to stay in the media scene for decades to come.

Redick retired from the NBA less than three years ago, but he's catapulted into one of the biggest names in the industry. He hosts his podcast, "The Old Man and The Three," on his own network, but had already built a name for himself when he became the first active NBA player to start a podcast in 2016.

He's not only become a fixture on Walt Disney Co.'s  (DIS)  ESPN shows like "First Take," but he was recently rewarded a role in the booth for ESPN's top NBA broadcast team that will be calling the NBA Finals, replacing Doc Rivers alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke.

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