JJ Redick apologizes to Stephen A. Smith on 'First Take' after throwing shade at his college basketball career

Per usual, things got a little testy on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ on Monday morning a day removed from the Los Angeles Lakers Game 4 playoff loss to the Denver Nuggets. Denver’s 113-111 win over the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals advanced the Nuggets to their first NBA Finals appearance and eliminated LeBron James‘ Lakers squad from the playoffs.

After the game, the 38-year-old James gave a cryptic statement hinting at a possible retirement, which former NBA player and current analyst JJ Redick gave a thoughtful analysis of on Monday’s show. But host Stephen A. Smith wasn’t quite as understanding of Redick’s breakdown.

“I listened to every word JJ just said, I don’t understand much of what he just said, but I listened,” Smith said.

Redick later offered up an apology to Stephen A for his earlier comments.

Is this friction intended, healthy, and all in the game. Or are these two genuinely starting to wear on each other? pic.twitter.com/WtTRQh9KJr

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 23, 2023

Redick immediately fired back, taking a dig at Smith for his basketball resume that’s not quite as accomplished as Redick’s.

“Well you didn’t play Stephen A, you didn’t play. You don’t understand athletic mortality, three games at whatever South Dakota, Winston-Salem State doesn’t count,” Redick said.

Redick’s shot at Smith seemed personal and may have crossed the line, but wasn’t wrong, as Smith averaged 1.5 points per game in his final year of college on a 20% shooting percentage. Nonetheless, Redick did issue an apology to Stephen A later in the show.

“Stephen A I just wanted to apologize because I will admit something, and I shouldn’t admit this, I let you get underneath my skin in the A block and I was a little flustered and I misspoke,” Redick said. “I had a little brain lapse and I couldn’t say Winston-Salem State University and I did not mean any disrespect to that university or to you.”

His apology seemed sincere and Smith seemed forgiving, but the flaring of tempers in not a new thing on First Take. Debates tend to get heated on the show and it will definitely be interesting to see if they do again between the two throughout the remainder of the NBA Playoffs.

LeBron James makes cryptic statement, confirms to ESPN thoughts about retiring

The L.A. Lakers heard the final buzzer on Monday night that signaled the end of their 2023 playoff run but the storied franchise may have also seen the end of one of the greatest careers of all time. Star forward LeBron James ended his press conference after the 113-111 loss to the Nuggets with a statement that has once again stirred up the conversation about his retirement.

“Going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about,” James told reporters.

The 38-year-old led his team with 40 points, becoming the oldest player to do so in a playoff game, but it wasn’t enough to stop the sweep by Denver. While the Nuggets embark on their first NBA finals trip and the Lakers pack up their lockers, LeBron has “a lot to think about.”

The former Cleveland and Miami star clarified to ESPN after the game that he is in fact contemplating retirement before next year.

“If I want to continue to play,” James said specifically about what he is considering and whether he would walk away from the game. “I got to think about it.”

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this report