JJ Redick again destroys Stephen A Smith for his insane take as Smith questioned LeBron’s iconic stature in the NBA.
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There’s no argument that Stephen A Smith rules ESPN and arguably the sports media in the United States in totality. The veteran analyst has his fair share of fans and haters. The latter are in abundance, as he has the most berserk takes and an overly animated character. He finds himself in the middle of social media battering all the time.
Whatever are his methods, Smith has what it takes to get the viewership. That’s why he is the highest-paid analyst in the business. But every so often his takes are so wild, there must be someone who could argue it, otherwise what would be the credibility of ESPN?
After Max Kellerman’s exclusion from the First Take show, there is a man who could counter Stephen A as good as or even better than his former panelist used to.
When Stephen Curry was on the brink of breaking the all-time 3-point record, Smith sparked a debate that the Chef has overtaken LeBron James as the basketball icon of this generation.
Has STEPH overtaken LEBRON as the basketball icon of this generation??? pic.twitter.com/ieZOSzQyxN
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) December 10, 2021
JJ Redick destroys Stephen A Smith on First Take
A one-month-old ESPN analyst and 15-year NBA veteran, JJ Redick came up with his homework to thrash Stephen A for his absurd take. Telling him that their fellow ESPN analyst and former LeBron James’ teammate Richard Jefferson considers this as Smith’s dumbest take ever, JJ went off on the veteran analyst with facts.
“When you talk about being the face of the generation, you’re talking about a resume—LeBron has 17 All-NBAs, Steph has 7, LeBron has 4 MVPs, Steph has two. Any statistical measure does not have to be advanced, LeBron James is ahead of Steph.” JJ said.
As good as Stephen Curry is, it would be foolish to call him or anyone else, Kevin Durant per se, a bigger icon than LeBron James. As JJ Redick said, social media can be a clear reflection of who is the face of the game throughout the globe. Still, nobody is halfway close to King James in followers tally.
Redick continued, “This is certainly not a knock on Steph Curry. I do think there is a difference between the face of the 3-point revolution and being the face of an entire generation. … And if we look at different eras in the NBA, Magic-Larry, Michael, Kobe, Shaq, LeBron, and I hate to say it, but it’s still LeBron. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. So for Steph to overtake him, … I just don’t see it happening. The resume speaks for itself.”
And comparing Steph to Michael Jordan? This literally is the most foolish thing Smith has ever said. Finals MVPs are a major factor if you think Curry has a chance in the future to overtake LeBron in the GOAT conversation. And Curry has zero Finals MVP to LeBron’s four and Jordan’s six.
Being a three-point shooter throughout his career, if Redick sides with a rather more complete player in LeBron James, one cannot expect an expert to be more impartial.
There is a player who can join LeBron James and Kobe Bryant to compete with Michael Jordan for the crown, but he doesn’t play for Golden State Warriors anymore.
