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Former Tennessee Lady Vols players Andraya Carter made her NBA Draft broadcasting debut for ESPN on Thursday night.
Carter is a rising star in the sports media industry after playing for the Lady Vols from 2012-16.
But seemingly before she could even get her feet wet, basketball fans are already coming Carter over comments she made about co-host JJ Redick.
Prior to the San Antonio Spurs taking Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick, Carter said that Redick was an “average” shooter during his NBA career.
“JJ, you were an average shooter in your career, right,” she asked of Redick. “Because it’s hard to do. It’s so hard.”
Malika Andrews, the third person on set, could barely believe what she was hearing. And Redick responded by asking “is that a serious question?”
Redick, of course, made his name at Duke as one of college basketball’s best every shooters and scorers. He then carried that shooting into the NBA. While he was never a superstar, Redick was always seen as one of the league’s best shooters.
He’s 18th all-time with 1,950 3-pointers made in his NBA career, and 19th all-time with a .4145 3-point percentage. That ranks just .0016 percent behind Klay Thomson for 18th.
Fans on Twitter quickly jumped on Carter over the comment.
Andraya Carter really called JJ Redick an average shooter on National TV during NBA Draft coverage. I take back what i said! Build around Monica McNutt instead 😂😂😂 @espn
— 73-9 and THEY LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) June 23, 2023
“Andraya Carter turned to JJ Redick and said “YOU were an average shooter” ; he laughed a little, and she stayed serious and insistent. His all time percentages are elite. I don’t get what she was trying to do. He just ate it to keep the broadcast going,” @JWRose42 pointed out.
Andraya Carter turned to JJ Redick and said "YOU were an average shooter" ; he laughed a little, and she stayed serious and insistent. His all time percentages are elite. I don't get what she was trying to do. He just ate it to keep the broadcast going.
— Justin Rose (@JWRose42) June 23, 2023
“I don’t care what Twitter or ESPN says, Andraya Carter was flat out wrong for straight up dissing the accomplishments of a 10+ year veteran in the NBA with that comment. Like it or not, it came off as crass and has no idea of the difficulties of JJ Redick contributions,” @EdGordo6 said.
I don’t care what Twitter or ESPN says, Andraya Carter was flat out wrong for straight up dissing the accomplishments of a 10+ year veteran in the NBA with that comment. Like it or not, it came off as crass and has no idea of the difficulties of JJ Redick contributions. https://t.co/K8QrJ9wFrx
— Ed Gordo (@EdGordo6) June 23, 2023
Redick then came to Carter’s defense, saying that his co-hosts was just joking around.
Nah we were joking before the show about this. Andrea was just having fun. I can take it lol. @Andraya_Carter you crushed the draft 🙌 https://t.co/IiDE84PdiK
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) June 23, 2023
Redick seemingly didn’t care about the jab. So maybe fans shouldn’t either. But in the heat of the broadcast, it certainly came across as awkward.