JJ Redick gets ejected for passing ball to the ref, a breakdown
What Happened
In a February 2021 game against the Celtics, New Orleans guard JJ Redick worked himself into an ejection over a stretch of three possessions. First he hit an and-one he insisted came with a push-off, then he barked at an official about a missed off-ball foul and picked up a technical for profanity. The breaking point came moments later: after drawing another foul, Redick spun the ball back toward the ref. The official couldn't handle the pass, and Redick got tagged with technical number two for passing the ball with force. The NBA later confirmed that exact wording as the reason for the toss.
Why This Matters
Two technicals mean an automatic ejection in the NBA, and Redick's second one is the kind of soft whistle players hate. The league's official explanation, passing the ball to a ref with force, basically hinges on whether that spin counted as intent. Redick argued he was just spinning it, not throwing it, and the replay doesn't make the ref look great either since he flinched and lost the handle on a routine toss. Redick was 36 and in the back half of his career here, a known shooter without the leash a star gets. He'd retire after the 2020-21 season, so moments like this became part of the cranky-veteran reputation he leaned into later as a broadcaster and eventually a head coach. It's a small play that says a lot about how quickly frustration snowballs.
At 1.7M views this one ranks 145th of 1,583 Jomboy breakdowns, putting it in the top 9 percent of the whole catalog.
Key Moments
Who / What Is Involved
Players: JJ Redick.
Key Terms Mentioned
Full Transcript
jj reddick got ejected from the game the other day for passing the ball to the referee now this one is brought to you by draftkings you go to the draftkings app you download it you use promo code john boy you play fantasy you go to the sports book you do whatever you want this is his first foul and he gets called for that and he didn't really do anything at all really do it on the celtics kind of pushes off with his left hand right there and then there's no contact the rest of the way you can see it here just straight up no contact but he puts it in gets the end one screams and yells because he persevered through all that contact redick says he pushed off okay whatever next you got zion bringing the ball up and you got jj down here in the bottom left he's gonna get the pass now he thinks that's an off the ball foul right there and he turns the rep and says what the hell where were you on that one jackass and he keeps yelling at him and ref says timeout t him he's being mean to me and i don't like it he said they were he said that reddick was using profanity so that's his first technical foul and he's licking his lips and he's getting a little angry but he's gonna reel it in he's a professional now this is like the next possession zion's got the ball again reddit comes around goes to put up the shot nope draws the foul gets the call the ref calls it he passes the ball to the ref now the ref got a little scared here because as the ball was coming you...