Being a young player in the NBA is not an easy task for any athlete in the world. There are huge expectations from the said player. On top of that, veteran players on the roster try to assert dominance over young players from day one.
Former NBA star JJ Redick experienced this during his time with the Orlando Magic. He recently shared a story about how former Orlando Magic player Hedo Turkoglu elbowed him in the head and gave him a black eye during practice.
“If I was playing too hard in practice, he would tell me to stop,” Redick said. “I’m a young player. I’m not getting any minutes, and this is when we practiced. We’re wearing knee pads and taped ankles, and practice is my time to shine. So the first time, he gave me a warning. First time, he said, ‘Stop playing so hard. Stop fouling me. I’m gonna f**k you up.’ I didn’t respond, and then the next time he caught the ball, he literally caught it, made sure I was guarding him, and he elbowed me in the side of the head.”
That’s unfortunately not the end of the story between Redick and Turkoglu. Another similar incident happened, and this time around, Redick got a black eye after Turkoglu’s elbow.
“The next year, same thing happened,” Redick continued. “This time, we’re at a shootaround; we had live shootarounds. I was going hard whatever. This time, no warning elbowed me again, so I get a black eye.”
(Starts at 0:34)
This story proves that Turkoglu certainly didn’t like Redick when they were teammates on the Orlando Magic.
Turkoglu once tried to get his Magic teammates to pee on Redick after he showed up late to practice. Certainly, doesn’t seem like the best solution to deal with the situation.
Hedo Turkoglu’s Side Of The Story Regarding His Fight With JJ Redick In Practice
It is abundantly clear that Redick and Turkoglu could barely stand each other, let alone get along with each other. The primary reason behind it is the anger issues that Hedo had in him. It’s no surprise that he is on the list of receiving longest suspensions in the history of the NBA.
Anyway, Turkoglu recently shared his side of the story about his fight with JJ Redick in practice. It came out a couple of weeks ago, which ultimately prompted a response from Redick.
“I almost slapped him, remember?” Turkoglu said. “He was guarding me. He used to grab and slap and all that. I said, ‘Now, JJ, man, stop doing this s**t, man. I’m just gonna f*****g pass the ball, man. I’m just chilling, man.’ He would just slap and all that. Then you look bad because you turn the ball over. So, I said, ‘JJ, I’m gonna f**k you up.’ I got the ball. I was posting up. I didn’t even look at this s**t. I just grab. Boom. Brian Hill was coach, ‘You m*****f****r. You dirty bastard. Blah blah. Get the f**k out.'”
"JJ I'm going to f*ck you up"
Hedo Turkoglu tells a hilarious story of him and JJ getting into a fight at practice 😂
🔁 @QRich pic.twitter.com/Hwl6f59mSB
— The Game Day Hoops (@TheGameDayHoops) February 28, 2023
Turkoglu and Redick have a somewhat similar version of the story. But as per Turkoglu, Redick was the one who poked the sleeping bear initially and ultimately paid the price for it.
At the end of the day, NBA fans will surely love to see the two former Magic players sit down together on a podcast and share more details about this and many other stories.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
