Podcasting gave the “The Old Man and the Three” co-host a new way to connect with the game he loves. On this week’s special episode of Boardroom’s “The ETCs” podcast, Redick reveals he’s only getting started.
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JJ Redick spent his entire life attacking one goal and achieving the dream of playing in the NBA. But even after one of the most prolific Duke careers in the history of college basketball, and a 15-year NBA career full of deep playoff runs, there’s a lot of life left after basketball.
Thankfully, the sharpshooter started writing his next chapter before announcing his retirement from basketball last September.
“I was curious if I could do something besides basketball,” JJ said on a special collaboration episode between “The ETCs with KD” podcast and Redick’s own flagship pod “The Old Man and the Three.”
His media journey started during his career after being approached by NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. In the summer of 2015, Woj was building his Yahoo Sports NBA offshoot, “The Vertical,” and tapped JJ for some first-person player content. JJ balked at the idea of writing, so Woj pitched a podcast. JJ was unfamiliar with the medium, but willing to give it a shot. By February 2016, the original iteration of “The JJ Redick Podcast” was born.
The show is believed to be the first podcast hosted by an active professional athlete, and it sparked a revolution. JJ invited guests from around the league and entertainment to swap stories as he discussed his life as the starting shooting guard of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I think part of the appeal of the podcast, too, in current media space this really is the meat,” JJ said on the latest episode of “The ETCs” podcast. “We can really talk hoops. There’s no commercial breaks here, man.”
JJ eventually landed at The Ringer, where he met Tommy Alter, his current co-host and business partner. After three years there, JJ and Tommy ventured off to start their own media company, ThreeFourTwo Productions — appropriately named after the number of shots JJ takes in his shooting workout routine.
ThreeFourTwo has four podcasts under its umbrella, with plans to expand “into the worlds of business, film, television, and food using the same targeted strategies that made ‘The Old Man and the Three’ a success.” JJ is a father of two with more time now than ever to be present with his family, but he’s keeping his options open even as he grows into a full-blown multimedia star.
“I don’t know if my life is gonna be in media,” JJ said. “I’m just open to things, and I like what I’m doing right now. When I was playing, I had the greatest job in the world. It was my dream to play in the NBA. And then, this has just been fun. It’s been rewarding, and I like doing it.”
And for a man who spent his life playing basketball, his new endeavor is still rooted in that love.
“It’s just a conversation about basketball,” JJ said. “About memories, stories, connections. A lot of guys I have on, we don’t know the guy before we even have him on. But they want to come on the show, we want to have them on the show. There’s an inherent respect. Peer-to-peer, so, having conversation like that is … Man, it’s fun. It’s enjoyable. Because I love basketball. I knew I loved basketball when I played. I didn’t realize how much I loved it ’til I retired.”
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