Less than a week ago, Stephen A. Smith made headlines with his bold take on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The public hasn’t received his comments, which seem to diminish the Milwaukee Bucks star’s achievements quite well. That also goes for his co-workers. NBA analyst Jay Williams is among those who disagree and made it known to Smith’s face.
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Last week, Giannis trade rumors came to a screeching halt, as it was announced Bucks star will probably stay with the Bucks. On June 13, Smith unprecedently spoke on Antetokounmpo’s career in a negative light on ESPN’s First Take. Despite winning an NBA championship in 2021, Smith believes Giannis will be an “underachiever” if he doesn’t win another title.
That word holds a lot of weight, especially when describing Giannis’ career. The Bucks star has two MVPs under his belt, a Defensive Player of the Year award, and Most Improved Player, along with nine All-Star and All-NBA selections. Most people would argue that those accolades reflect someone who achieved more than their expectations.
Jay Williams is a product of the people who feel that way. As a result, he adamantly defended Antetokounmpo against Smith’s take.
“That was one of your worst takes I’ve heard in a long time,” Williams said on ESPN’s First Take. “To call him an underachiever is an asinine comment.”
Antetokounmpo isn’t the only great player to have only one championship. Williams began to list several all-time greats such as Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson. What’s the one thing they all have in common with Antetokounmpo? They all have only one championship.
Williams’ stance is that Smith feels that way about Giannis, which means he believes all these players are underachievers, which is an incorrect mindset to have. Of course, Williams wasn’t able to get his point across without some pushback from Stephen A. Smith.
The ESPN analyst defended himself and did so by using an example involving an NFL legend.
“When you’re great and you have one championship on your resume, people are not going to look at you the same,” Smith said. “The perfect example is Aaron Rodgers.”
Rodgers only has one Super Bowl to his name, while he only appeared in the big game once in his career. Fans can acknowledge his skill and greatness, but the lack of hardware to show for it derails his rank among all-time greats. Especially when his positional rival, Tom Brady, went on to win seven championships.
There are a few NBA examples that Smith provided to further hammer home his point. Players such as Allen Iverson, Patrick Ewing, and Karl Malone are all great, but don’t get the love they deserve due to their lack of hardware.
Smith doesn’t believe this is the right way to assess players, but it’s the reality we live in. This new age of parity within the NBA may change ring culture for the better. For the time being, opinions such as Smith’s will continue to live on, whether it’s on TV or on social media.
