“You can not put more pressure on Kevin Durant, LeBron James, or Chris Paul than themselves”: Stephen A Smith gets owned by JJ Redick for questioning the legacies of the greats

Stephen A Smith gets destroyed by JJ Redick on the sets of First Take after questioning the legacies of Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

Stephen A Smith’s takes are as nasty as they come in the NBA community. Fans and other experts are rarely surprised by the likes of him and Skip Bayless of the world. But as they still continue to be the best-paid analysts in the business we have to hear their absurd opinions sporadically.

A couple of days back, the ESPN veteran had a take about the Brooklyn Nets’ MVP, Kevin Durant, that stirred a Twitter spat between Smith and the Slim Reaper.

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Smith said KD’s legacy will be on the line if he fails to win a championship in Brooklyn after leaving the Warriors. Ideally, these types of comments should be totally ignored considering the said person a madman, but Stephen A got what he wanted.

First, he had Wanda Durant, Kevin’s mother’s response to his bizarre opinion.

@stephenasmith you at it again with your limited-thinking-negative-narrative-baiting-comments; when will you show up better? More importantly, when will we grow tired of this foolishness?

— Wanda Durant (@MamaDurant) February 5, 2022

Then he got the 2-time NBA champ involved as well.

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) February 6, 2022

Smith went on his rant while responding to KD.

But right now, YOU ARE PLAYING.

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 6, 2022

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 6, 2022

But nothing beats the beating Smith gets from another expert or an ex-player on his own set.

JJ Redick puts Stephen A Smith in his place yet again

Former NBA sharpshooter and ESPN analyst, JJ Redick, is again at it. The 3-pointer specialist again puts Stephen A Smith in his position while telling him that neither KD nor LeBron James has anything to prove to help sustain their legacies.

This First Take segment namely “Who is under more pressure to win a title: LeBron or Durant?” took place after Smith and Durant’s back and forth online, and Redick didn’t miss his chance to have his say on the subject.

“I don’t think there’s pressure on either guy… There is no one that can put more pressure on Kevin, LeBron, me, Chris Paul than themselves.”

.@jj_redick says LeBron and KD are under NO pressure to win another title.

“Both of these guys’ legacies are secured!” pic.twitter.com/5KGxpkfXxO

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 8, 2022

Throwing the fact in his colleagues’ face that no expert opinion puts any more pressure on the athletes with a proper mindset than their own, JJ shut Stephen A down with regard to his expertise as well as anyone.

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Whereas Smith’s disrespectful response to both KD and JJ clearly shows his slightest of regard towards the athletes who earn him his bread.

We get that the likes of Smith do this purely for entertainment but still, there must be some boundaries. Respect them or not, at least the 54-year-old man should behave like a professional on the screen.