Stephen A. Smith teases ‘very important’ announcement

Maybe he’s running for president, maybe he’s joining Inside the NBA. Only Stephen A. Smith knows what he’s up to, but he’s up to something.

In the wake of the New York Knicks getting knocked out of the NBA playoffs, Smith is already moving on. Monday morning on First Take, Smith teased having a big announcement to make this Wednesday.

A big announcement from Stephen A. Smith is coming 👀 pic.twitter.com/kOcBcPevPp

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 2, 2025

“This Wednesday, in terms of the money and all of that other stuff, I do have a very important announcement to make,” Smith revealed. “But I have to wait until Wednesday. I just want to say that. I have an announcement coming. Wednesday. Wednesday. It don’t stop. The train don’t stop.”

Smith announced his forthcoming announcement immediately after a debate about whether NBA teams should still be trying to stack superstars in the current league considering how much they cost owners. There’s not much of a tell from that conversation about what Smith’s announcement might be. So, cue the speculation.

It’s not a contract announcement. Smith already signed a $100 million deal with ESPN earlier this year. It’s also not an announcement that he’s running for president in 2028. There’s no need for Smith to venture away from the speculation of “will he? won’t he?” this many years out.

Molly Qerim seemed surprised by Smith announcing he’s forthcoming announcement. Which makes it seem unlikely that the announcement is an addition to First Take. Qerim would seemingly be clued in there.

There is an overwhelming fear that Smith will be announcing his addition to Inside the NBA when Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal bring their show to ESPN next season. But even that seems unlikely. Smith will undoubtedly make some contributions to the next installment of Inside the NBA, but considering the show will continue to air from Atlanta, being a full-time cast member is not going to happen.

Still, there is no shortage of options as to what this “very important” announcement could be. It probably won’t be about President of the United States, Inside the NBA or another $100 million contract, but hopefully it lives up to the tease.