A Conversation with J.J. Redick on the Real Strength Manifesto, Fans, the Clippers, PB+J and more

Ryan Snellings chatted with Clippers’ guard J.J. Redick about his work with Dove Men+Care and their Real Strength Manifesto, fans, the Clippers, resting and the right way to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

On Monday afternoon, J.J. Redick gave us a 15 minute interview (below). He is promoting his partnership with Dove Men+Care and their “Real Strength Manifesto”, but we were also able to cover a variety of other topics.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

"Ryan Snellings: Do you mind talking to us about this Real Winner’s Care campaign and how you got involved with it?J.J. Redick: Yeah, I’m actually really excited to partner with Dove Men+Care on this campaign. The thing that really hit home with me was the Real Strength Manifesto and just the celebration of fans and the impact they have on the game and the manifesto itself, you know. I read it and I loved it.The thing I loved about it was just that all of us, whether we’re fans, players, coaches, alumni, we’re all something bigger than ourselves and we are all fortunate to be part of this great game. So the manifesto just sort of speaks the unifying power of that passion and care that we all have for the game.RS: If either one of your kids ends up being good enough to play Division 1 ball and looks like they’re going to go to the NBA, are you going to take the LaVar Ball approach with them?JJ: (chuckles) No. So, my wife and I have talked about this before. We, obviously, assume that our boys at some point in their lives will be interested in basketball, but we aren’t going to push anything on them. We want both of them to get a good education and selfishly for me, I hope they both learn to code at a young age so they can create the next great app or possibly go to space, go to Mars. There’s probably enough basketball players in the world.RS: You guys just beat the Jazz on Saturday, winning that season series 3-1 and you’ll probably be matched up against them in the first round. What do you think the biggest factor is when facing them?JJ: I think they’re a very physical team, both offensively and defensively and I think for us, we’re at our best when we are the instigator. So, we sort of have to come every game with that mindset and match their intensity. From a personnel standpoint, they have a very deep team. They have a lot of talent.They have an All-Star in Gordon Hayward and then [Rudy] Gobert is playing at an unbelievable level. I want to say I read somewhere the other day he’s leading the league in win shares, or something like that? Maybe he’s the only guy behind [James] Harden. I don’t know. It’s something crazy like that. He’s been great. The last two games against us, he’s played well. You really have to focus on those two guys, but they have so many other great players. George Hill has had a fantastic season for them.We beat them three out of four times this year and were up in the 2nd half of the game we lost a few weeks ago in Utah and I think the difference was they hit 10 of 11 threes in the second half or whatever it was. 11 of 12? So, if we play our defense in the half-court and limit them to one shot, then I think we have a chance to win the series.RS: Do you think shortening the season would be something to look at or would you be against that?  (Regarding resting players in the NBA)JJ: To me, I’m happy with my paycheck, so I wouldn’t want to shorten the season. So, unless they find a way to continue to increase revenue with less games, I just think shortening the season is a non-starter. You need to play a maximum 4 preseason games. I think now it’s 6 that you can play. But, I would just continue to eat into October.With the way our league works now, especially with social media, but with guys having personal trainers in the off-season, no one shows up out of shape in September or October for training camp anymore. Like, guys in the 90’s, 80’s, you used to hear stories about guys who wouldn’t touch a basketball for four months. They’d come into camp 20 pounds overweight and they would use October to get back into shape.I just don’t think  you can afford to do that because if you show up to media day looking overweight. It’s posted everywhere. Everybody knows it. It’s embarrassing. It just doesn’t happen anymore.If you wanna figure out a solution, you just continue to eat into October. You figure out a way to make the games, I guess, more spread out based on that.RS: Did you see ESPN’s article the other day about the league and their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? How do you take your peanut butter and jelly?JJ: Well, I was a pretty vocal opponent of the initial ingredients that we were given at the beginning of the year. You know, I think a PB+J is a very classic thing. You don’t mess with the recipe. It should be classic white bread, Jif peanut butter and concord grape jelly. And I don’t thing there’s really any wiggle room right there.RS: Not even for strawberry?JJ: Nah, strawberry preserves are disgusting to me. But if you like your peanut butter country, I get that. But, the Health Food peanut butter is disgusting. Justin’s makes a decent one, but it’s not the creamy goodness of Jif. The other thing too, is, have you tried to spread the Whole Foods Jelly?RS: I have not.JJ: Ah, it’s a really hard task. I just like the classic ingredients. We have a lot of bread options: whole wheat bread, the classic white bread, I think there’s some spelt bread as well, but I have to go for a classic white for me."

Dove Men+Care Real Strength Manifesto

Want more information on Dove’s “Real Strength Manifesto”? The manifesto, signed by over 25 basketball greats, is a unifying message about basketball fans’ deep passion for the sport and their effect on the March Madness experience. The manifesto celebrates experiences that bind fans and the impact their energy can have, not only in the stands, but on fellow fans and players everywhere. The goal of which is for fans to embrace the manifesto and what it stands for in spirit and action this March. You can find more information, including how to sign the manifesto on Dove’s website.

Once again, a big thank you to both J.J. Redick and Dove Men+Care for setting this up.

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