Jay Williams, one of Stephen A. Smith’s ESPN colleagues, called Smith out for his criticism of Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
Shortly after the Suns fired coach Mike Budenholzer just one year into his five-year contract, Smith said that Ishbia was “on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner in the history of basketball” and added, “That’s saying a lot. Donald Sterling once owned an NBA franchise.”
Ishbia took exception to those comments, noting that he expects Smith to apologize, noting “it’s disrespectful to put my name aligned with anybody that was kicked out of the league.”
As it turns out, Ishbia isn’t the only person to have an issue with what Smith said. On Thursday night, Williams criticized Smith’s take, bringing up not only Sterling but also the man Ishbia replaced as owner of the Suns, Robert Sarver.
“We’ve had Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver,” Williams said. “But Stephen A saying Mat Ishbia might be on the verge of becoming the worst basketball owner ever… for firing coaches and spending to win? Nah. That’s not analysis. That’s performance.”
This is not the first time the ESPN personalities have been at odds. In 2023, the two had a heated debate over Kyrie Irving. More recently, Williams called out Smith for not naming a former player who criticized Steph Curry.
Here, we can’t dispute Williams.
Ishbia’s tenure running the Suns has definitely been bumpy. But even if it gets no better, it will have to get much worse — both on and off the court — before he can be grouped with people like Sterling, Sarver, George Shinn and Ted Stepien, just to name a few.