Ahhh, in 2020 especially, it’s nice to see how some things never change. Music has stayed outstanding, puppies remain more or less cute, and Stephen A. Smith remains equipped with all the laughable energy of a human air horn.
After the Los Angeles Clippers lost the Western Conference Finals to the Denver Nuggets, despite once having a 3-1 lead, the internet knew Smith would have a few things to say to Clippers-junkie, Max Kellerman, who described Kawhi as the best current NBA player and superior to Kobe Bryant.
And to say the least, fans expecting a spectacle were not disappointed. As the humorous tirade took place, viewers were quick to identify numerous meme-worthy moments. The most on-the-nose comparisons of course being that which compared him and Shannon Sharpe (who shared comparable views on the matter) to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Viewers we so enticed by his enthusiasm they didn’t even seem to think to contest his assertion that Leonard failing to lead the team to victory “might be the biggest choke job we’ve ever seen in NBA history.”
It took little time for Smith to reach the heights of Twitter’s Trending charts, with a broad consensus plainly agreeing that he made Kellerman into a cautionary tale of conflating fandom with analysis.
However, given Smith’s capacity for arguments and bombastic statements, it seems clear that even he knew the role he was bound to play in lambasting the Clippers for failing to capitalize on such a substantial lead, as just before his appearance on air he tweeted, “…Get your popcorn ready…”