Chris Canty urged Stephen A. Smith to 'stay off the weed' after the ESPN star proclaimed Kevin Durant a top-10 player of all-time. Chris Canty, Kevin Durant and Stephen A. Smith

Earlier this week, Stephen A. Smith proclaimed Kevin Durant to be a top-10 player of all-time.

That didn’t sit well with Chris Canty, who responded by throwing one of the ESPN star’s most famous lines back in his face on Wednesday’s episode of Unsportsmanlike.

“Somebody needs to drug test Stephen A. Smith with that take. Stay off the weed, Stephen A.,” Canty said, echoing perhaps the most famous Smith-ism. “You’ve been hanging around Mad Dog to long, dog. Maybe he might have slipped you one of those gummies. Whatever it is, stay off of it, dog. Kevin Durant is a top-10 player? You’re out of your mind. I’m going to use a word that you like: asinine. It’s asinine to say that KD is a top-10 player all-time. Use that as the next soundbite on First Take from Unsportsmanlike.”

Smith took the former NFL defensive lineman up on his offer, addressing Canty’s comments hours later on First Take. But despite past disputes between the two that had gotten especially heated, the 57-year-old’s response in this instance was relatively tame.

“I’m not talking resume, I’m talking talent. Tell me 10 players in NBA history that were better than Kevin Durant,” Smith said. “Just eyeball test. I’m talking about 7-feet [tall], with a 7-6 wingspan that can handle the rock like that, that can shoot the rock like that, that can finish in the open court like that, that can be close to a 50-40-90 player consistently, that is better after an Achilles tear in his 30s than he was in 20s when he was averaging 27 a game then.”

Smith, however, didn’t fully let Canty off the hook there, as he also threw in some jabs at the former Virginia star’s size and ability to agitate his 6 a.m. ET audience.

Ultimately, Smith and Canty seemed to be having separate conversations here, with the former discussing pure talent and the latter leaning on Durant’s career resume. In that case, both sports argument artists can claim they were right, although that didn’t stop Smith from later proclaiming himself as the true victor of this particular debate.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.