“Your life is on the line! Who you got Stephen A Smith? Bill Russell or Stephen Curry??”: Chris “Mad dog” Russo tears ESPN’s veteran analyst apart in his own backyard

Stephen A. Smith is lit on his ESPN set by his new First Take colleague for calling Stephen Curry Top-10 all time.

Compare him to any sports analyst on the National television, SAS has the most berserk takes in the history of the sports-entertainment business. And I am thinking of Skip Bayless while saying this, but NO!

That man is just a LeBron James hater, most of his other takes aren’t half as absurd as his ESPN counterpart’s. But in the past few months, Smith has taken it to a whole new level, maybe to prove that his employers did the best thing to choose him over his long-time partner, Max Kellerman.

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Stephen Curry is the undisputed best shooter in the NBA. But since he broke the record for most 3s all-time, Stephen A has gone on to call him better than LeBron James, the face of the NBA, best point guard of all time, and whatnot.

That didn’t just disrespect the King but also Magic Johnson who is considered by many as the greatest point guard of the game. And now when Smith said Curry is top-10 all-time, he got thrashed on his show in a similar manner to his’.

Stephen A. Smith gets torn apart for his take on Stephen Curry

We all know how SAS bettered Max, not with facts, but with what we just talked about and also his overly animated character. But now it seems ESPN has got another man who could match his energy on that front.

Sports Radio veteran Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has become a part of First Take and is doing his bit to keep Smith in check.

This back-and-forth between @MadDogUnleashed and @stephenasmith is comedy 😂

(via @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/b8u9W2K6kc

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 2, 2022

As soon as SAS started his rant for Curry’s case in Top-10, Mad Dog questioned him on whether he’d choose the 2-time MVP over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, or Bill Russell for “a series to win for his life.”

Although Smith answered quickly for Larry Bird saying Russo got him, and same for Kareem, he threw “it depends” for the latter two. He said it’d depend on if he needs a better shooter or the best point-guard ever (Magic) and arguably the greatest defender of all time (Russell).

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Don’t go much further, Stephen A. just look at ESPN’s recent ranking of top-75 players of all-time. Stephen Curry is ranked 16th on that list, and you would have had a say on that, wouldn’t you? It’s not been even 10 days yet, and he’s suddenly top-10?

When it’s all said and done, the Chef might finish a few places ahead in the all-time list if he’s able to win a few more MVPs and a championship. But before that, he is good where he is at.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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