JJ Redick after15 NBA seasons announces retirement ‘It’s time’

JJ Redick, the sharpshooter who was named The Associated Press Player of the Year at Duke before going on to play in the NBA for 15 seasons, announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Redick, 37, has played for the Magic, Clippers, 76ers, Pelicans, Bucks, and Mavericks, among others. In 940 regular-season games, he averaged 12.8 points per game, and his 1,950 career 3-pointers rank him 15th in NBA history.

« As a 7-year-old boy, I dreamed of playing at Duke as I got older. I dreamed of playing in the NBA, » Redick said on his « The Old Man and the Three » podcast. « The last 30 years of basketball have been beyond my wildest dreams. I never could have imagined that I would have played basketball for this long. After years of youth leagues, AAU, high school basketball, four years at Duke and 15 years in the NBA, I’m retiring from the game that I love so much. »

With 2,769 points in his college career, Redick is Duke’s all-time leading scorer. He’s also the all-time leader in 3-pointers with 457 and free throw accuracy with 91.2 percent for Duke. As a senior, Redick averaged 26.8 points per game, a Duke record, on his way to being named AP Player of the Year before being selected 11th overall in the 2006 NBA draft by Orlando.

He made the NBA playoffs in each of his first 13 pro seasons, reaching the NBA Finals with Orlando in 2009, and scoring a career-high 40 points in an overtime win over Houston on Jan. 18, 2016.

Injuries limited him to 44 games for the Pelicans and Mavericks last season, during which he shot 37 percent from 3-point range, the second-lowest mark of his career, and averaged only 7.4 points, his lowest scoring average in more than a decade.

« It was difficult for a number of reasons, » Redick said. « Being injured, being away from my family, COVID protocols and really, truly not playing up to my standards. I would like to describe last season as a seven-month exercise in coming face-to-face with my own athletic mortality, and it was scary and confusing. »

JJ Redick said that some teams inquired about his availability for this season, and he told them that he would wait before deciding whether or not to return for another season. He’s made his decision now, with training camps around the league starting next week.

« I have some clarity now and I know it’s time, » Redick said. « It’s time for me to be a dad. It’s time for me to reflect, pause, and it’s time for me to get ready for the next phase of my life. »