JJ Redick responds to Stephen A. Smith about comments on LeBron's possible retirement: 'You didn't play'

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JJ Redick is back on ESPN’s "First Take" taking shots at a fellow sports personality, and Stephen A. Smith was the target Tuesday morning. 

The Denver Nuggets made the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers, and LeBron James floating retirement in his postgame presser was a big topic on the show. 

Redick, who spent 15 years in the NBA from 2006-2021, gave his take on James’ comments. Smith didn’t really get it. 

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Stephen A. Smith attends SiriusXM At Super Bowl LVII Feb. 9, 2023, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

"Everything he does is for a reason," Redick explained. "And whether this is to put a little pressure on the Lakers to improve the roster, whether this is to send a subtweet to his teammates — whatever it is, there’s a reason he does this.  

"But I believe there’s some earnesty [sic] in these comments. It’s not just for a calculated reason. He’s coming off Year 20, age 38, a long playoff run where he’s had to play a ton of minutes with an injury, and it’s just human nature that you would begin to say, ‘Oh, maybe I’m nearing the end.’"

"Go ahead, Windy," Smith told Brian Windhorst, another panelist on the show, when Redick was finished. "I mean, I listened to every word JJ just said. I don’t understand much of what he said, but I listened … I didn’t comprehend, I’m sorry."

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"Well, you didn’t play, Stephen A.," Redick replied. "You didn’t play. You don’t understand athletic mortality. Three