Stephen A Smith seems to always be in the news for all the wrong reasons, but he took his clownery to a whole new level during Game 4 of the NBA Finals. A fan caught Smith playing solitaire on his phone during the heat of the action. This is the man getting paid millions to give his opinions on ESPN?
Fans have been complaining that the NBA doesn’t feel very culturally relevant compared to the past. A large reason for this is how the games are covered on the biggest network in the business. Pregame, halftime, and post-game shows on the Worldwide Leader in Sports feature dozens of commercials with a few broken segments of their studio panel in between the ads.
The people on those panels are a glaring issue. Kendrick Perkins and Bob Meyers give vapid analysis that any casual consumer of basketball could spout for less money, but Stephen A. Smith is the symbol of everything wrong with ESPN. Smith treats his airtime as if he’s bigger than the players and the games themselves. Look no further than him getting into beefs with Hall-of-Famers like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and current Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.
Smith had a chance to man up and own the moment on social media, but instead, lied and said he was playing the game during a timeout. X users quickly found evidence showing Smith playing solitaire while the basketball was unfolding. Smith doesn’t think he has to watch the NBA or enhance his knowledge of the sport because he doesn’t care about anything but getting clicks and making himself the story. Looks like his mission succeeded yet again.
ESPN is not completely void of smart people. Scott Van Pelt’s postgame show, which has been on location during this year’s Finals, has been awesome as usual. SVP keeps it real by interviewing players with genuine curiosity and a respect for their personal space. He doesn’t spout things for attention, and he certainly doesn’t try to challenge athletes to fights. The guest analysts he brings on are also typically more intelligent than the ones on other ESPN shows.
Tim Legler is the best example of the type of folks sports television needs right now. Legler cares about teaching his audience without talking down to them. He breaks down plays on-screen, adds relevant context to the clips, and has a great rapport with Van Pelt. Legler should be the most prominent brain on the network, but ESPN is too worried they’ll lose the lowest common denominator of fans if they put someone like that in front of the screen too often.
Adam Silver’s efforts to revamp the NBA’s television landscape by adding NBC and Amazon to the mix next season will only give the sport an infusion of credibility if the people those companies hire try to emulate Legler rather than Smith. Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, and Blake Griffin have all been announced as former stars who will play prominent roles on TV next year. Too bad ESPN will still be getting the most games, though.
Smith isn’t the only hot-take artist on ESPN, but he is the ringleader of that movement. It’s far past time that ESPN and every other sports show tries to educate fans, instead of acting like they’re dumb and uninterested in real analysis. Maybe Smith can con America into voting for him for President if he’s so bored with the NBA.
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