National Basketball Association

LA Clippers: Sports Illustrated rank J.J. Redick 59th in NBA

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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LA Clippers guard J.J. Redick was the most accurate three-point shooter in the NBA last season, and ranked 59th in Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 players because of it.

J.J. Redick may have narrowly missed his career-high in points per game by 0.1 last season, but he still had the best year of his career. Averaging 16.3 points with new career bests in field goal percentage (48) and a league leading three-point percentage (47.5), Redick’s tireless off-ball movement and catch-and-shoot threat was once again an integral (yet underrated) force in the LA Clippers’ offense.

As a result of such clinical shooting, Redick increased his standing to 59th in the Sports Illustrated Top 100 players for 2017 list.

Here’s some of what SI’s Ben Golliver had to say about Redick’s performance and ranking:

There’s no problem at all if J.J. Redick, 32, never has another season as good as his 2015–16 campaign. He was just that good last season, scoring 16.3 points, shooting a league-leading 47.5% from deep, posting a whopping 114 offensive rating per NBAWowy.com and dropping a career-high 17.5 Player Efficiency Rating. L.A. got by for long stretches of the season without All-Star forward Blake Griffin in large part because Redick was the most finely tuned version of his lethal catch-and-shoot self.

After ranking 93rd in SI’s Top 100 following the 2014-15 season, this is a major jump for Redick. A career-year as a league leader in three-point percentage, displaying unbelievable spot-up efficiency as a vital cog of an elite offense rightfully earned him a higher spot.

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Golliver noted that Redick’s 47.5 percent three-point shot was the second-best mark in NBA history among players with at least five attempts per game, which makes that level of quantity and quality sound even more impressive.

In today’s NBA when the league is driven more than ever by the power of the three and the teams that utilize it best, it only makes sense that Redick earns some recognition. On catch-and-shoot field goals, he was even deadlier than Stephen Curry (50.2 percent to 48.3, per NBA.com).

Due to the importance of such shooting, you could make an argument that Redick deserved to make his way just inside the top 50 players. But, at the very least, there’s no doubt that 93rd was far too low last season, and making a jump of 34 places is more than justified.

After all, there is a reason that the LA Clippers’ offense scored 11.2 more points per 100 possessions with Redick on the floor last season. He’s that good.

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