As they do almost every day, the folks at ESPN First take spent part of Thursday morning discussing another NBA topic that has very little substance and is destined to annoy everyone watching.
There is no winner in these moments when the debate is embraced because winning is not the issue. Being outrageous, loud and grabbing attention is all that matters.
Stephen A. Smith did just that on the morning of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Warriors, drawing criticism from Kevin Durant for trying to answer the question of whether or not Stephen Curry made the NBA worse — which, of course, he didn’t. But in his speech, Stephen A. said that the real culprit who hurt the NBA was actually…Michael Jordan.
You know, the guy who almost single-handedly made the NBA a global phenomenon. Smith’s reasoning is virtually irrelevant because the subject itself is absurd.
Durant didn’t have it either.
My theory is that guys like Steve, Skip and Shannon changed the game for the worse. Players like Stephen and Michael can only move the game forward. https://t.co/0Oc9J2HqxS
-Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 2, 2022
He’s funny and a Hall of Fame football player and will be a Hall of Fame personality one day, but Shannon’s gaming IQ was built by NBA Twitter lol
-Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 2, 2022
It is This isn’t the first time Durant has gone online to give Stephen A a hard time. and knowing KD, it won’t be the last either.
https://t.co/KJbShVUZ6D pic.twitter.com/9VcI7ScR03
-Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 2, 2022
If you want to discuss shows like Undisputed, First take and such are all harmless fun, I hear you. These are the debates that take place in group chats, in bars and wherever basketball is played. The call is there. But the shine certainly wears off when the conversation always returns to the silliest margins of “who ruined basketball.”
It’s the beginning of the NBA Finals, after all, there are surely better topics to discuss.
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