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Richard Jefferson Looked Right at the Camera After Taking a Lighthearted Shot at TNT

Jefferson struck a blow for ESPN in 'NBA Countdown’s beef with 'Inside the NBA.'

Stephen Douglas

Richard Jefferson looks into the camera on NBA Countdown.
Richard Jefferson looks into the camera on NBA Countdown. / @VCorleonie
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The Detroit Pistons are having a very nice season. At the very least they're headed back to the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and are on track for their best record in over a decade. It's gotten to the point where even the national broadcasts that usually prefer to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors have no choice but to discuss Detroit basketball with some reverence.

That's why ESPN's Malika Andrews asked Richard Jefferson "what makes this Detroit team so special" on Wednesday's edition of NBA Countdown.

Jefferson began his response by explaining who coaches the Pistsons, which is something that some people may not know.

"Well, contrary to popular belief, Chauncey Billups is not their head coach. It's J.B. Bickerstaff," Jefferson said as he looked straight at the camera in silence and winked.

This was, of course, a shot at Shaquille O'Neal, who recently said Billups was doing a good job as Detroit's coach before defending his mistake by pointing out that he doesn't watch the Pistons.

On top of that, the Inside the NBA crew has taken some pretty broad shots at their future co-workers at ESPN, including Kendrick Perkins, who was sitting directly to Jefferson's left when he winked at the camera.

This isn't as loud as anything that's been said on that other network, but it is probably an effective ribbing either way.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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