Just as Stephen A. Smith vs LeBron James is starting to cool off, Stephen A. Smith vs Kevin Durant is now heating up.
Tuesday morning on ESPN’s First Take, Smith made the bold claim that Phoenix Suns majority owner Mat Ishbia is on the verge of becoming the worst owner in NBA history.
Smith made sure to note that includes Donald Sterling, who was banned by the NBA for life and forced to sell the Los Angeles Clippers after a recording emerged of the billionaire making racist remarks.
While Stephen A. Smith placed 98 percent of the blame for the current Suns’ debacle on Ishbia, he left the remaining two percent for Kevin Durant, questioning the former NBA MVP’s ability to be a leader. The criticism made its way to Durant by way of social media, prompting him to question whether Smith even bothered to pay any attention to the Suns this season.
Durant called Smith out early enough for First Take to notice his social media post and pivot it to close their show with the topic Tuesday morning.
“Are we allowed to say anything?” Smith asked of being able to question NBA players. “There’s a residue of crumbs all over the place about things that have transpired in the career of Kevin Durant. We might question things here and there, but nobody disrespects this man. I love the guy. I don’t disrespect him. I’m simply saying, elements of leadership that other people may have had to galvanize a team is something that he doesn’t seem to have.”
“You can’t say anything,” Smith griped. “Former players, present players, coaches, teammates, media, nobody can talk about this guy…I don’t give a damn what KD says. I got nothing but love for KD. I know that’s a good brother, he’s just a bit sensitive.”
Thanks to Durant’s pushback Tuesday morning, Smith decided he will dedicate an hour of Wednesday’s First Take to covering the NBA the way players seemingly would like him to.
“Y’all have no idea what I’m talking about,” Smith said with a smirk. “You wait until you see what I do tomorrow on First Take. I’m gonna dedicate an hour to covering the sport the way they want me to. Okay? That’s all I’m gonna tell you.”
We might not know exactly what Stephen A. Smith is talking about, but somehow, it still sounds like it’s going to be insufferable.
But Durant has a point. As Smith hosts First Take, focuses on his podcast, teases a run for president of the United States, appears on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NewsNation and pretty much any show hosted by a former player, how much time did he really spend watching a 36-46 team this NBA season?
Smith’s energy and work ethic as a performer are unmatched, but there’s no way he has time to follow sports and break games down with the depth that current athletes might want him to. Which means there’s probably only enough time for more macro level takes about the Cowboys, Lakers and LeBron James.