Every season across the four major American sports leagues, hundreds of athletes fight to compete for a championship. Not everyone won, of course, even though some deserved to more than the rest. For NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith, there are 5 athletes who he would like to see lift trophies.
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Winning trophies takes more than talent, hard work, solid performances and luck. More often than not, it majorly boils down to how good the rest of the team is. NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, NFL legend Dan Marino and MLB legend Ken Griffey Jr. are among some of the most talented athletes to never hoist a championship trophy despite having stellar careers.
There are many more among this generation of stars who will also never win anything and as cruel as that maybe, it is simply how things work in sports. Smith just hopes that with the way their story is going, these 5 athletes don’t join the cursed list.
“Number five on the list is the judge, Aaron Judge. Number four on the list is Jalen Brunson. Why? Because I’m a Knicks fan. The top three on the list, Josh Allen. The dude’s a stud. Number two on the list, Anthony Edwards, my favorite player to watch in the NBA. He just ain’t number one, though. Number one on my list would be this man, Lamar Jackson,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take.
Smith’s list featured his infamous New York bias throughout. In total, the list consisted of 2 NBA players, 2 NFL players and a single MLB player. He chose not to include an athlete from the NHL, but if he were to, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid would’ve been an excellent pick.
It comes as a surprise to many that he didn’t put New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson higher than Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. Former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty called out Smith for this exact reason.
“First of all, Stephen A., you’re a fraud, New York City sports fan, because I don’t know how you don’t have Jalen Brunson and Aaron Judge higher on this list,” Canty proclaimed.
Smith didn’t hesitate to defend himself, highlighting a key reason why both Brunson and Judge are as low as they are on his list.
“Jalen Brunson overachieved. He’ll get his chance. Aaron Judge, I would have higher on the list if he weren’t one of the big reasons as to why they haven’t won. But in the postseason, he’s come up smaller than he has been in the regular season,” Smith said in response.
To be fair, Brunson has propelled the Knicks to heights no one expected when they signed him in 2022. As for the rest of them, that’s yet another topic for fans to debate.
