Mavs in trouble, Woj on Hurley & Lakers, A’Ja Wilson dominance, Reckoning with Will Smith

Stephen A. talks about the Boston Celtics’ dominance over the Dallas Mavs in Game One of the NBA Finals, the reports of UCONN’s Danny Hurley as the Lakers’ next Head Coach, and names Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson as his “WNBA Player of the Week”. He also congratulates the Oklahoma Sooners women’s softball team on their NCAA title win against the Texas Longhorns. NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski also joins the show.

On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you’ll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day’s biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena.

The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.

welcome to another episode of the Stephen A Smith show coming at you at the very least three times a week over the digital Airwaves of YouTube and of course iHeart Radio as always I want to stop and take a moment to show my love and appreciation to all of my followers and subscribers we’ve now eclipsed 699,000 subscribers can’t thank y’all enough for the love keep it coming and I’m going keep on coming and please make sure to go to iHeart Radio to listen to the show in your car or whatever audio device you may have go to iHeart and check that out by the way if you want to continue to like and follow the show just click the Bell um and boom you’ll be the latest member of the Stephen A Smith show Family while you’re doing that please make sure to not forget to pick up a copy of my New York Times bestselling book straight shooter A Memoir of Second Chances and first takes now in paperback so go to straight shooter book.com once again at straight shooter book.com time to get yourself a copy since I am in Studio I’ll make sure to take phone calls before I get on out of here for the weekend and give some advice as well the number to call up as always is 88727 5303 that’s 888 s533 now let me get started because we got a couple of NBA items to get into all right mainly that ass kicking that we saw last night in Boston Massachusetts the Celtics opened game one and sent a message to the Dallas Mavericks about who they are in in this championship series the game featured the return of Chris STS porzingis who came off the bench to spark Boston scoring 18 of his 20 points in the first half Jaylen Brown set the tone and led the Celtics with 22 points while Jason Tatum added 16 points in route to a 10789 beat down of the Dallas Mavericks okay here’s the deal I’m looking at it from this perspective I got the Dallas Mavericks winning this series let me be just put myself on Front Street I swear to Lord I wish I could change my mind right now I’m not going to do it but I damn near want to for one reason and one reason only Chris dsb zingis yes Jason Tatum set the tone he was hitting shots he was attack in the basket had a spectacular dunk had a big time block of Kyrie Irving I get that Jason tat didn’t need to do much last night because the Boston Celtics had seven different dudes that hit two or more three-pointers in this game which was an NBA Finals record you don’t see that of their 16 three-pointers divided by seven different dudes that hit three-pointers so everybody was hitting two three points we got to take that into consideration it’s not about that everything changed the moment Chris stbs porzingis came into the game through a roaring to a roaring Ovation by the way he’s 7 feet three y’all so he’s going to cause problems defensively when you’re driving to the Lane Kyrie Irving when you’re driving to the Lane all right Derek Jones when you’re driving to the Lane PJ Washington Chris rozing is gonna be there because he’s 73 so that’s problematic in and of itself here’s where it gets worse porzingis hit threes plus he hit twos posting dudes all over the place shoving them aside and shooting turnaround jump shots and on top of it all when he wasn’t doing that you know what he was doing blocking shots and he was helping out on defense which caused some problems for not only the players that I mentioned but for Luca donic as well and so I look at it from that standpoint and I said at the beginning of the Season before it even started if Chris STS was zingis and the Boston cels are healthy they win the championship I picked the Mavs to win the series because Chris STS porzingis wasn’t supposed to be healthy they said he had an injury similar to that of Kevin Durant where it was a calf injury it was irritated and then ultimately he came back after weeks and Kevin Durant tore his Achilles so I said you know what he wasn’t a strong lateral mover to begin with Boston isn’t the greatest pick and roll defense to begin with you put Chris dzingis in those situations with Luc and Kyrie it could be a problem that’s how I looked at it and then this guy came out and showed us that the MVP wasn’t him the MVP wasn’t jayen Brown the MVP wasn’t Jason Tatum the MVP wasn’t Derek white or Drew holiday or anybody else the MVP was the Bost of Celtics medical staff cuz this brother looked big time he looked like he is 100% And if that’s the case the Dallas MERS have no chance this series will be over in five they can’t beat the Boston Celtics in a best of seven series with a healthy Chris daps porzingis I don’t think that’s possible I really don’t I thought he was going to be hobbled at the very least that was not the case it was not the case now let’s get to the Dallas Mavericks and most notably the struggles of Kyrie Irving because it’s worth talking about did y’all know that Kyrie has now lost 11 straight games to the Boston Celtics his last win against his former team was just over three years ago when he was a Brooklyn Net and last night to be quite honest with you it just wasn’t a good look Kyrie finished game one of the finals with just 12 points shooting six and 19 from the floor 0 for five from three-point range and was a team worse minus 19 for the Dallas Mavericks look it’s not a crime that this happened but I think we got to be honest about it Kyrie Irving was rattled by that Boston Celtics crowd they booed him loudly they were spewing Venom in his Direction and Kyrie is not a bad guy we all know that even though he works through a lot of things mentally and emotionally the fact of the matter is is that he’s a decent guy who wouldn’t mind being liked and when you look at the Boston Celtics fans that’ll never happen a because you’re an enemy of the Boston cels as long as you’re wearing the opposite uniform just ask Draymond Green about how they treated him two years ago when he was playing when he was he’s still with the Golden State Warriors but when they were playing against the Celtics in the finals he was a bit rattled in the first couple of games in Boston ultimately overcame it and played like a a damn Allstar in that game six no question about it but let’s make sure we understand the importance of what we’re talking about here Kyrie Irving is one of those dudes that will be religiously hated by the Boston faithful why is that the case because when you look at Kyrie Irvin he’s the guy that said he was staying as long as they’d have him and then left like a thief in the middle of the night to join the Brooklyn Nets they didn’t forgive him he comes back as a member of the net Nets and what happens he steps on a leprechaun on the parquet floor he flipped the bird at fans so he knows that he was wrong as he acknowledged that and it’s not a crime and we all move beyond that everybody’s going to move beyond that but the Boston faithful why because the more they boo you the more produ the more unproductive it makes you the more they’re going to up the ante because they want their Celtics to win the championship so somehow someway Kyrie is going to have to dig within himself and figure out how the hell to bring his aame against the Boston Celtics because they’re going to need it the Dallas Mavericks are going to need it if they’re going to beat the Boston Celtics make no mistake about that coming up Will Smith is out with his latest film Bad Boys ride to die with M Lawrence but it’s all forgiven with Smith since the Oscar slap of star Chris Rock we’ll get into that I’m getting into that but first the Lakers are meeting with Yukon head coach Danny Hurley this weekend about taking over in La could this be a good fit I’ll get into that next with the one and only Adrien wowski the ultimate Insider up next right here on the Stephen A Smith show back for more in a minute [Music] all right everybody you know what time it is it’s time for Stephen A’s weekly picks if you’re a sports fanatic like myself then you can’t just watch the games you need to be a part of it all so how do I do that I play prize picks of course that’s what the hell I do prize picks is a skill-based real money daily fantasy sports game where you select two three or even up to six players and choose if they’ll have more or less than they projected ingame stats it takes less than 60 seconds to make your picks and put you right in the middle of the game time action all right pick the stats of all your favorite players Luca Kyrie or t or even Asia Wilson then sit back watch and chill and if you go to prospects.com right now and use promo code that says you receive a 100% deposit bonus up to $100 that is absolutely no joke so go to prix.com type in my initi SAS for first time deposit match up to $100 pick more pick less it’s that easy today today however I will not be selecting any players or Sports I got to go off topic just for this one time all right that’s right I’m selecting either more or less than three and a half people a day asking more Yours Truly to take a selfie who the hell asked this question who came up with this are you kidding me three and a half a day I get three and a half requests every three hours minimum it’s at least 20 to 30 selfie requests I get per day per day I don’t understand it I’m just a personality used to be a reporter I really don’t get it can’t see I can’t do that can’t rap ain’t trying to damn sh wasn’t good enough to play professionally in terms of basketball or anything like that I don’t understand it but I am loved so I guess that explains it so why the answer is more as in way way way more than three and a half requests for a selfie from your boy but I’m a man of the people so it doesn’t bother me at all welcome back to the Stephen A Smith show right here over the digital Airways of YouTube now let’s get to the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching search please that is now focused on Yukon head coach Danny Hurley Hurley recently won backto back NC CAA Basketball Championships and has a top five team returning this season he’s reportedly been the obsession of Lakers general manager Rob palinka whom he’ll meet with this weekend along with team owner Genie bus the Lakers according to ESPN’s very own Adrien W rousi are looking at a potential deal that would be significant in its length and salary now Hurley has not made a decision about leaving Yukon but he did inform the University of his interest in taking the job wge will join me momentarily but I wanted to give my take on this Lakers situation really really quickly Danny Hurley deserves this job if he wants it Rob pinka according to the exceptional reporting of wge has been obsessive in his pursuit of Danny Hurley and rightfully so he’s a two time National Champion he’s the best in the game right now we’ve seen other coaches come on to the pro ranks the Brad Stevens of the world the John kaparis of the world and others and have some degree of success including Billy Donovan let’s not forget him in the job that he did at the University OFA Florida I’m not going to forget the job that Darin ham did because he did go to the Western Conference Finals his first year he did lose all and and and lose in five games to Denver in the first round but both losses were to the Denver Nuggets led by the arguably the greatest player in the world in Nico yic so we got to take that into consideration how much more can Danny Hurley do I don’t know but I know if anybody deserves the shot he does and I’ll leave it at that because I got to get to my next guest right now joining me to talk more about the Lakers coaching search is the man who broke the story for ESPN the man who breaks most stories when it comes to the National Basketball Association I used to be an NBA Insider ladies and gentlemen let me say this in all honesty I was never this man my next guest senior NBA Insider recognized for breaking the news reporting on the league over the past decade plus one of the best in the world he host he’s the host of the wge Pod and the wge report both on YouTube by the way please welcome my buddy my partner in crime on NBA Countdown one of the best NBA insiders in the history of this profession the one and only Adrien W narowski what’s going on Big Time how are you sir how’s everything Stephen A I’m great I’m great good to be here with you man thank you for being here let’s get right to it how much do you how big of a possibility do you think it’s going to be that Danny Hurley is going to be the next head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers Stephen there’s a real possibility and there’s traction these conversations between Hurley and the Lakers that the job is his if he wants it and I think that’s been clear to him uh for a you know some period of time here and it’s really just been the last few days where now he’s you know gonna formally meet with the Lakers he told Yukon that he was going to do that he told his players that and he flew to California on a Thursday night and today’s Friday and so he’s going to meet with as you mentioned Rob penka jeie bus um and and sit down with them and see what this could look like this is not done he’s not made a decision certainly at the time that we’re talking but he is seriously weighing this and the NBA’s always been an ambition of his and the kind of job the Lakers is and what it represents and what it means in the coaching fraternity you could make a case it might be the most uh pressurized most famous most stored seat maybe in all of coaching and maybe not just basketball so I think all of that appeals to Dan Hurley and and he’s looking hard at this to look to get back and to give folks on the outside some insight to all of this we’ve heard numerous people reporting that there were numerous candidates most notably our colleague at ESPN JJ reick the inside info is that I want to let America know that when I was thinking about that the one and only Adrien w D rowski would come over to me and say wait a minute it’s not quite going down that way Stephen A let me hook you up with the Intel and that’s exactly what you did paint a picture for what the situation has been leading up to hurle being in this position was it always him was it numerous people like a JJ reic was it really nobody at all was it really all about Dan Hurley break that picture down for my audience please Stephen A the other candidates who they’ve talked to are viable legitimate coaching candidates not just with the Lakers but will be with other teams but Rob pank identified early that Dan Hurley was the coach that he wanted to hire but he didn’t know if he’d be able to get him he couldn’t just spend two three weeks pursuing Dan Hurley and hoping to get a chance to get down the road the way they have here at the end and so he has interviewed other candidates and if Dan Hurley says no to this job then it’s going to circle back to the JJ recks the James bgos among some others Sam Cassell who’s an assistant with the Celtics is interviewed James bgo there’s been different uh variations of interviews in this B they did an initial wave of candidates while they’re waiting to see if they could make any Headway with her where they brought in guys and they got to know guys that they hadn’t interviewed in the past remember they just did a coaching search a couple years ago right so they had met with some of these guys they didn’t they they did sort of an informal like more of a get to know you with a bunch of guys including JJ reick including James bgo because there just wasn’t familiarity they brought bgo back for a more of a sitdown formal all day let’s really dig into an interview they hadn’t done that yet with with JJ and I think they would have if the Hurley thing didn’t start to accelerate here and again if Dan Hurley turns down the Lakers or they just can’t come to an agreement again this could come back JJ reick is a coach or a coaching candidate that the Lakers have a lot of had a lot of interest in they preferred Dan Hurley which you could understand he’s you know two-time back-to-back Champion he’s been coaching a long time uh there’s a lot to be in inged about with Hurley so you know we’ve been reporting about interviews and permission the Lakers have gotten from other teams to talk to candidates but that’s as far as the Lakers are concerned those were candidates that they were talking to that they were getting to know and moving down the road only if they couldn’t get Dan Hurley what exactly are the Lakers looking for and I only ask that question W because again I listen I understand why the Lakers felt the need to make the move with with Darin ham I knew darham and remember you and I were standing together and I knew Darin Ham’s days were numbered when I saw what Anthony Davis said in the aftermath of game two losing game two in Denver and was talking about how disorganized I was like oh my Lord that’s bad sign for any coach so I knew it then but what exactly are the Lakers looking for in their next head coach crystallize that for us the Lakers want to build out a program a way of doing things from top to bottom organizationally and giving the coach giving Hurley a lot of latitude to do that and to partner with penka the front office in really allowing him to kind of redefine to them of what a Laker it would be a Laker Hurley player style of play System all of those things that they think Dan Hurley can bring and what they’ve seen him do at Connecticut you know you look at Billy Donovan going to Oklahoma City and listen he inherited a team that was rated to win a championship Hurley wouldn’t be doing that Quinn Snyder in Utah took over a team that was Lot in the lottery drafted Rudy Gober Donovan Mitchell developed them became you know a viable Western Contender you’ve seen college guys come in the ones who’ve had success have kind of had a a partnership with the front office you know to build out a way of doing things that’s what Peno wants to do with Hurley he is certainly you’ve seen players just really develop at Yukon Donovan kingan the seven-footer who will be one of the top few picks in this draft uh Stefon Castle in one year at Yukon we can go down the list they’ve had they’ve gotten guys better they have maximized the guys they have and you’ve seen a system in place there that has dominated college basketball they were they they laughed everybody this year they they had a they won a national championship where they outscored their opponents in this tournament Stephen A by 14 40 points John Wooden never did that and so the level of dominance is you know has Rob Pena’s attention and so what he wants is instead of just going team Year to you know a team team team is again building out a program can a coach who can get Austin Reeds and ruy hachimura and Max Christie andove those guys drafting well developing those guys but you’re LA and you’re always going to have access to either through trade or free agent to great players who want to come here you have to have those players you know who they are Stephen A if you’re going to play for a championship we can list I don’t know one of six players seven eight players you better have one of them where you’re not competing for a title maybe the list is even shorter than that so what helenka sees is this history in La of you know Jerry bus had Pat Riley and jeie bus had Phil Jackson he sees Dan Hurley as that next l Legacy coach for the Lakers that’s what he’s banking on here that’s where I was going next because we know LeBron James is there we know Anthony Davis is there and a little bit younger than LeBron James so he’s considered the future even though some of us wonder how much time he has left at times because he’s always injured even though that wasn’t the past case this year when he played 76 games there’s also the pinka Genie bus element the Laker Nation situation and you look at a coach and you hear the word development that’s not something that’s synonymous with Laker Nation and so it’s wi now when every year that’s right it’s whenn now win every year so if you’re a Rob pinka and you’re a genie bus how do you answer that question for the doubters especially when people wonder what role did LeBron James have did he have a role with JJ reick does he have a role with Danny Hurley being a target for Rob palinka now how do you answer that as as the ultimate inside of that you are I know people want to believe LeBron James is in the middle of these Co in searches and I’m going to tell you he’s not and I know people don’t necessarily want to accept that at the surface but it’s been the case and it’s been the case in the other searches now the first search Rob pinka did you look back and they could have had tyo they couldn’t get there on a contract they they didn’t offer them enough years I’m not I wouldn’t necessarily say enough money but but certainly enough years they didn’t get it done he goes to the Clippers as an assistant Monty Williams they didn’t get there with him he goes Phoenix they hired Frank vogle I don’t think there’s anybody who would say hey LeBron was really pining for Frank vogle to be his coach I don’t know that they knew each other had a relationship now they won a championship together same with Darin ham the search started out in one place Jawan Howard Jaan stays at Michigan and eventually Finds Its way to Darin ham he takes the job I think especially in this case where LeBron is and his career he’s really left it to them and Rich Paul his agent they’ve been very consistent consistent with this Anthony Davis is the one who we really need to talk through things with about how the new coach impacts we’re talking about how he impacts a player is how he impacts ad and and I saw ad a few weeks ago in LA and he and I talked about it this was before the hurly stuff but just in theoretically Anthony Davis would like to have and the team wants to have the organization wants to have him on the same page with a new coach like he wants to know what’s it going to look like what are the actions that your can put me in and I think they’re excited about Hurley’s bringing Hurley potentially would be bringing I think a really sophisticated college system I’ve talked to a few NBA head coaches who as they’re preparing for the draft are watching a lot of Yukon tape because they’re watching klling in and Castle right and they didn’t see it dur they’re not spending a lot of time watching regular season college basketball they are they are really taken with the kind of actions Dan Hurley’s running how Innovative it is and and more than one of them have said to me this would really translate to the NBA it’s it’s not common that you see NBA coaches looking to take some things from a college system but that that’s gone on here the last couple years and so listen they want Anthony Davis to be on the same page with this but you’re right Stephen A it is going to take I think people need to see it to believe it in LA that you are taking a little bit of a longer term approach here and in terms of a program and building something out for the long term and I think people may be cynical about that until they SE an action because a lot of people are just going to say hey if this guy doesn’t win in year one or year two with this team we’re going to be on to another coach and I think the best way Hurley can protect himself against that right are the years on his contract and the money because you’re making it a lot harder to just fire you if you are owed you know yeah 50 60 million name the number listen listen you brought up the word cynical a couple of questions more on this subject and that’s it bronny James projections he could be a second round pick the son of LeBron James the Lakers have the 55th pick in the draft Danny Hurley is known as a guy that knows how to develop Talent which is what people are speculating has LeBron James so excited Etc what level of credence do you give to that a lot a lot because if you’re the Lakers right now I don’t know that you can say to LeBron James hey I guarantee you by the end of free the draft and free agency and the building of the offseason roster that we have a team that’s a championship favorite now we know how loaded the West is we don’t have to list all the teams we know Memphis is we keep people we keep forgetting about Memphis you’re gonna have John Morant back and jiren Jackson Jr uh and uh you know this really talented team back in that Western mix we don’t have to go through all the names of the West it is hard to just say hey LeBron we’re sure we have a championship team next year you’re going to try to put the best roster you can together but what you can say to him is it has been a dream of yours and an ambition of you and and uh presumably bronnie to have a chance to play together and what better situation if we take bronnie at number 55 and we have Dan Hurley and his development system in place to give bronnie the best chance he can to develop into an NBA player and you know part of what you do when you’re an organization like the Lakers and if people say hey this is you know special treatment this isn’t well yeah no kidding yeah there’s special treatment all over the NBA and I will say this I saw bronny James a year ago before the heart episode that he went through last summer that that curtailed his freshman season Stephen he was at the I saw him in Portland Oregon at the Nike hoop summer where you practice all week with the best American players they play the best International Players he belonged there he fit he was outstanding in the practice sessions go back and watch the game he held his own and did really well with all the best players in his class yeah I’ve never seen bronny James play and I’d avoided it on purpose because I had so many critics of LeBron James looking to take aim at him that I thought it was so unfair I didn’t want to watch him until I absolutely had to and then he had the heart ailment at USC so I said it’s really unfair to judge him at this particular moment in time so I really really appreciate that Intel but I I guess what I’m wondering about if this guy ends up in LA with his dad well first of all it shouldn’t be any problem for LeBron James to commit to a three-year deal after that it should be no problem whatsoever okay but you often wonder about the level of scrutiny so this is not an Insider question per se I’m asking you if somebody that’s covered the NBA for decades that talks to so many players and coaches and Executives that knows this league inside and out what do you think that’s going to be like for LeBron and bronny if they’re together in Los Angeles I’m just talking about in terms of the the the cynicism that’s what I’m asking you about listen this is a results league and it’s a results driven profession you’re going to have to show value but you’re not asking bronny James to in to the league or to the Lakers and be a rotation player he he’s like almost any other 19y old 20-y old player who’s a oneandone he’s going to spend a lot of time in the G League their g-league team is right there same facility the South Bay Lakers and so like you could see a world where let’s say the Lakers draft them and he goes through preseason and you know opening week LeBron and bronnie play their uh one or two games together and then you know he comes in and it’s and it’s you know there’s obviously going to be a lot of attention and it’ll be an incredible moment but then he’s probably back off to the G league and that’s where he’s going to play and develop and now listen who knows maybe he moves along quicker and he can be at an NBA rotation I don’t know that that’s what it’s going to be but typically if you are being drafted in the 50s or the 40s in the NBA you you’re you’re starting your fight is through the G league and and getting to the NBA it your time may not be till you’re 23 24 years old like we can show you a lot of examples of those guys but where he is and where he was I would say a year ago coming out of high school he was on par with a lot of other guys who you saw as you know potential role players in the league it’s not this is not outlandish and anyone who uh shapes it that way I I think is not being fair he was away from the game for five months and I’m sure there’s like not just the physical coming back but the mental coming back from what he went through that some time so again I do think though so if you’re the Lakers back maybe you can’t say to LeBron we are just positive we have a championship team around you that’s not easy to do but this is something we can do for you and Dan Hurley helps us maximize that situation so I do think this is a significant factor in Hurley’s candidacy very last question on this subject Mike wilbor our colleague on NBA Countdown express some reservation because you’re a college coach coming to the NBA pink is there what level of real decisionmaking power is Danny Hurley going to have particularly working in concert with Rob Pinker if indeed he takes the Lakers job how do you answer that question for us yeah Rob Rob pink is still going to be the decision maker but the fact that he’s committing to that he would be committing to hurle committing the years and the money your saying is I’ve got to make this work how do I make this work I’ve got to find players who fit this coach and I think that’s part of again what putting a program in place and Miami when Miami is out and you see them bringing guys who are undrafted and guys who have been overlooked other places they know what a Heat player looks like they know who can play for Eric spola and they have a tremendous ability in that organization to find those guys develop them um the Lakers want to be able to do that and so there’s going to have to be a level of Trust on Hurley part with Rob pank in that front office the head coach isn’t out there evaluating and scouting and he may have some understanding in the next couple drafts of a lot of these young players because you’s seen a lot of them but you’re ultimately leaving it to your organization so you do have to be you H and that’s why you have to be going into this job be really talking about who are the kinds of players and the kind of style we want to play and the skill sets that are important but this is an adjustment for any college coach when you’re in college you’re the GM and the coach you’re not the GM in the NBA and there’s lots of other Hurley’s going to have to adapt in a lot of ways how he deals with officials how he deals with fans how he deals with players you have to understand when you’re going to the NBA and the guys who’ve done it well Billy Donovan Brad Stevens Quinn Snider I think all of those guys understand in college the head coach may be the star the players are the stars in the NBA I think calip Perry Rick patino they had a harder time on accepting that they weren’t the star and players aren’t going to respond to that but I think the head coach can be The Driver of the culture the environment and I think one of Dan Hurley’s great gifts and I think he got it from his father and it’s is he watched his dad as a high school coach for a very long time he could coach his players very hard but part of why he could was they knew he cared he they knew he was going to be there in their lives the relationship’s different in the NBA it’s going to be more transactional than it is a high school coach or a college coach but if you are authentic in my experience yeah if you are authentic and you’re not trying to be anybody else it doesn’t matter if you were an ex player or a non-player if you’re a man or a woman if you’re a black or white players will respect that you can that you are prepared that you can get them better you can help them win you can help them get another contract they don’t care what you look like or sound like if you can help them do that right I think Hurley fits that that criteria you know but he will have to adapt he will he will have to adjust he said to me one time in the past we weren’t talking about the Lakers job we were talking about the NBA though he said I understand that I don’t talk to my son at 21 years old the same way I did when he was 10 years old right I would understand that about the NBA but there’s going to be some trial and error with that too you’ve leaned on your extensive experience I want to get a bit personal here I’ve known you for years you’ve been covering the NBA for a long time time but one of the greatest honors of my career are the people that I’ve been blessed to work with you are one of those people you are the best in the business my man and it’s such an honor to work with you on NBA Countdown and work with you at ESPN all the time I want you to remind my audience of how long you’ve been covering this league and what you’ve been doing where you work with at before you got to ESPN how long you’ve been doing what you’ve been doing for ESPN talk to us well well first of all that means a lot Stephen you know how I feel about you uh I’ve been at full-time on the NBA when I went to Yahoo I was at the Bergen Record I was in northern New Jersey I was a Suburban newspaper columnist uh I went to Yahoo in 200 six and I did the NBA there for 10 years and now I’m on my I don’t know seventh year seventh year at ESPN but you know listen we go back to when I started covering the NBA when you know Byron Scott and Jason kid were with the Nets and Rod Thor Jeff and Gundy was the Knicks coach and those were fun times to cover New York sports teams and I saw the John caliper arrival in New Jersey and you saw the missteps of somebody John in his second year got to the playoffs and he did an outstanding job they got swept by the Bulls and I think Jordan’s last stand and I think back when it was best of five Y and then in his third year he had a bunch of injuries he had alienated everybody in the front off office and so the minute he struggled he was going to get fired because he hadn’t built any relationships Jan didn’t adapt to the NBA and I I think Dan Hurley potentially um would learn from some of the mistakes of those before him but again I’m not g to sit here and say hey this is easy and seamless right but he’s as good of a basketball coach as I think there is out there right now but staying on you how much are you still enjoying what you’ve been doing I talked about the w and everything else you’re doing how much are you enjoying what you’re doing at such an elite level listen I love it this is all I’ve ever wanted to do Stephen I all I ever wanted to be was a sports writer I wanted to be able to be at a newspaper where like they would let me take overnight trips to cover something and I could put a DAT line on my story right my those old little Radio Shack uh no one is more surprised than I am of how this is all turned out it’s the only job I ever wanted as a kid it’s the only uh profession I’ve ever wanted to be a part of and uh I still love like every day you know this Stephen every day this job is different every day there’s something coming down the road that’s a little bit different and I still love working at it I I’ve love covering the NBA I love I love dealing with the players I love dealing with the coaches and the GMS and the agents and I love all the people around it they’re they’re great lots of great characters and storylines to cover people have a tremendous appetite I think I always tell people my job really changed in 2010 when LeBron and Chris Bosch went to Miami that changed this job fundamentally because because free agency became such a different beast and then all of a sudden teams clearing cap space all the little deals around the NBA that were going to lead to the big deals there was such an appetite in those Chris Paul wants out of New Orleans Carmelo Anthony wants out of Denver player empowerment’s coming players are starting to move the pieces around the chessboard and it became a different game to cover the the the game within the game became its own industry and for me that recognizing that then that there was just this tremendous appetite in all of that changed my career I like Stephen you and I both started as our goal I think when we both started was what was the big job in our profession you want to be a big city newspaper columnist we grew up idolizing the guys in New York you and I we grew up reading Lupa and Harvey Aron and and all those guys Mark kgal and you wanted to be them and then the business started changing and it kind of moved towards specialization and then you took it to a place none of us ever imagined but I I would just say like no one’s been luckier than me in this profession there was nothing about my background or how I grew up uh my dad worked in a factory um for 30 years about a mile and a half from ESPN in Bristol um you know he worked at a factory uh ball bearings plant and his second job was working the cast register at a liquor store or he worked second job at a shoe store with a friend of his for for a friend of his and so there was nothing about my background that would have ever suggested that I could do this and I had so many great mentors and people along way who kept giving me opportunities so I I hope I can do this for as long as they’ll have me because um I know when I stopped doing it I’ll miss it because it’s again it’s the only life I’ve ever really wanted how much has social media changed the job for you whether it be in a good way or a bad way it changed it in a good way when I was I remember being at Yahoo remember the first big story I felt I broke it was pre- Twitter it was Greg Oden’s knee injury unfortunately for him in Portland um in Portland and I got word one day that he had it was a knee fracture it was right early in his rookie year and that he was going to be out for the season and I confirmed the story I mean think I confirmed the story I wrote the story I put it on Yahoo’s website and I’m waiting for someone to see it and notice it like unless you’re refreshing the site you’re probably not seeing it but there wasn’t Twitter and or at least I wasn’t on Twitter and and to think of how it’s gone from that literally waiting for the AP like an hour after I posted it to acknowledge it was there to you’re now putting that out in a moment right and social media and so the 247 nature of the job social media has impacted that um that certainly changed it and so if you were breaking news I always felt early on when I started covering the NBA and a full-time basis how do I get Jerry West and Donnie Walsh and uh AR telum who was the big agent then how do you get any of those guys to return your calls or know who you are what I found early was if you broke news they started noticing you that’s right and and so you’d break news and You’ break a little bit of chicken in the egg how can I break news if I don’t know these guys and then how you know so but you did over time and so uh social media started to change it because it was this immediate scoreboard of what was you you you everybody saw right away right the stories and that changed it but you know I think certainly yeah there’s a downside to everything but for me uh I have nothing to complain about I’ve been no one’s been luckier in this profession than me and I I know how hard it is to make a living in this business and I see what’s happening in our industry now like people that I came up in the business with you came up in the business with Stephen who are so talented and so gifted and have done such incredible work and I do think there’s fewer good jobs out there fewer platforms right than when we were coming up and so again I I just knowledge that I’ve been like incredibly fortunate to do this and to do it at ESPN and to work with people like you and Michael wilbon and Adam schfer you know I get INSP I still get inspired being around the best of the best that inspires me every day because you better raise your level at our place um or you’re gonna you’re gonna be out of you you you you stand out out of place if you’re not you know trying to really do this at a high level I’ll close by saying this by revealing to my audience something that you may not have even known from us you know at ESPN if his football is Adam shefa if it’s basketball it’s you they’ve come to people like myself will bond and various others years ago and they said we want to make sure no matter what it is you know most of the time obviously everybody’s got their sources you guys have been around for ages but we want to make sure on on certain stories that you don’t say anything until it goes through wge or until it goes through Adam CHF and all of us said absolutely we know our lane these are the dudes Adrian W narowski is definitely one of them the absolute best in the business man I’m proud of you I’m happy for you I really thank you for being on the show before I let you go when do you expect a decision on Danny Hurley for the Lakers I think it’s going to be relatively soon c a i whether that’s Saturday Sunday Monday I don’t think this goes very far into next week honored to have you on the show buddy looking forward to seeing you Sunday in Boston by the way I my prediction for the Mavs didn’t look too damn good last night I didn’t I didn’t know por was going to be healthy Myers down with you that’s right I didn’t know porzingis was going to look like that W I’m thinking he can’t do this he’s got a a KD injury for crying out loud he was awesome I said damn I’d have never picked the M if I knew he was if he was healthy I didn’t expect that W well listen I think this is still going to be a long series I you’ve seen Dallas punch back uh in the playoffs when they’ve lost they’ve looked not good in game ones I think I think Kyrie and luuka come back and the game two is down to the wire I I don’t see another blowout appreciate you my man to my audience out there my sister kman loves me she actually loves him more loves him more love anything for w you take it easy buddy thank you so much take it for all right buddy appreciate it yeah yeah let’s get to the WNBA okay well it’s time to put some weekly shine on the star players in the league with Stephen A’s WNBA player of the week than Anor goes to the Las Vegas ases Superstar Asia Wilson you know I got a soft spot for that girl she came through for me in the celebrity allstar game on ESPN a few years back in Chicago when the NBA collaborated with Mike wilbor to rig stuff against me she was the only one that showed up she was the only one that showed up I always loved that girl but anyway I digress on Wednesday night this woman dropped 36 points 12 rebounds and six steals to help the aces beat the Dallas Wings 95 to 81 Wilson became the first player in WNBA history to have at least 35 points 10 rebounds and five steals in a game she’s also the first player with at least 35 points and five steals in multiple games and this year she also became a New York Times bestselling author I I would know a little something about that by the way I too am won welcome to the family Asia welcome to the family anyway she released her first book and it was entitled dear black girls obviously if you know anything about Asia Wilson you know that she’s fanthropic you know that she’s very conscientious you know that she’s about uplifting a bunch of people but especially young black ladies in this society that we’re living in today a message like that the kind of message that she conveys the kind of example that she sets I cannot say enough about her have you ever seen this woman play Asia Wilson is the true face of the WNBA Caitlyn clarkk could potentially be that one day and obviously she’s been box office but Asia Wilson is the one with the credentials she’s the one that steps on the court and delivers championships a backtack champion favorite to three people for crying out loud she gets on the court and she annihilates competition she is clearly the superstar that exists within the WNBA she sets a shining example and no matter what smile you see her wearing no matter what outfit you see her walking into the Arenas with or whatever when this young lady steps on the basketball court she is all business and she takes no prisoners there’s a tweet right up here right now this was courtesy of the one and only LeBron James quote the absolute best with an abundance of exclamation points because she is she is the true gold standard in the WNBA Asia Wilson she’s that big time congratulations continued success moving forward by the way speaking of the WNBA staying with it don’t forget to check out two Eastern conference powerhouses meeting up this Saturday that’s when The Undefeated Conneticut Sun host the 9 and2 New York Liberty led by ban Stewart the sun aimed to build on their niname winning streak in the New York Liberty have won five games in a row so make sure y’all check that out before I get on out of here for this particular segment let’s switch to some softball okay because now let’s quickly turn our attention to that because it’s necessary because the Oklahoma Sooners be beat the top seated of Texas Longhorns for a record fourth straight NCAA softball title the Sooners won their eighth title overall all under coach Patty gasso and moved into a tie with Arizona for the second most World Series Championships trailing only UCLA Oklahoma senior class finished with as many national titles that would be four as NCAA tournament losses which was four 41 and4 over the course of their career what was their record in that span over these last four years I think their record was somewhere like 235 and 15 that’s what we’re talking about when we talking about the softball team at the University of Oklahoma This Girls a big time congratulations ladies you know I was out there you know trying to swing softball I struck out twice I struck out twice I’ll leave it at that way to go y’all way to go coming up there’s a new Bad Boy film out will it do as well as the last ones is all forgiven with Mr Will Smith since the slap should it be forgiven I’ll get into all of that in a little bit more up next don’t go anywhere you’re watching the stepen A Smith show be right back let me take just a few seconds to make sure everyone knows all right my favorite time of the year is finally here the NBA Finals have arrived and the best part is priz piics has got you covered that’s right while all the big games are happening priz piics is going to help you cash in y’all you see priz piics is a daily fantasy sports app where you can select two or more of your favorite players and then pick more or less on their projected ingame stats but prize picks is not just basketball oh no it has something for every sports fan okay from the MLB and the WNBA the tennis the NHL and everything in between you can pick aani Angel ree Juan stto and Sam Bennett all in the same entry by the way all in the same entry okay I make my picks and submit early all in less than 60 seconds and get this priz picks will match your first deposit of up to $100 so that’s right go to prospects.com and use code SAS that’s my initials of course in case you didn’t know for a first deposit match of up to $100 that’s code SAS when you go to prospects.com pick more pick less guess what is really really really that easy welcome back to the Stephen A Smith show right here over the digital Airwaves of YouTube before I get to my next subject a subject that I really really want to talk about for a second especially with the black community I want to show y’all a few of the pictures I’ve been blessed and fortunate enough to be a part of over the years this is me with the great Aaron judge right here before I embarrassed myself internationally by throwing out that awful first pitch yes I can suck it up this is me at a Big Three Tournament game in Philadelphia the one and only LL Cool J to my right the one and only Ice Cube co-founder of the big three to my left right here the great Denzel Washington and yours truly when we went out to an event together and we hung out one evening still love that brother the greatest actor I’ve ever known me with the great LeBron James the basketball court before Lakers game my man Snoop Dog at a game I think this one was in Golden State me with the great Aaron Rodgers he is a bad man this was at a Warriors game during the NBA Finals you see the one and only Floyd Money Mayweather behind me but all of these pictures that I’ve taken throughout the years one of if not not one of the greatest photos I’ve ever taken was this right here this is me with the one and only Will Smith while he was promoting his movie concussion many years ago I bring that up because I wanted to get to the latest installment of the bad boys franchise Bad Boys ride or die which debuted Wednesday it’s the second best reviewed film after bad boys for life that’s what they’re telling me it’s also the biggest film for Will Smith since his Infamous 2022 Oscar slap of the great comedian himself the one and only Chris Rock pre-sales for ride to die are behind that of bad boys for life of course which hit a franchise High opening of 101 million worldwi wide back in early 2020 domestic projections for ride to die were at 50 million but that reportedly simmered to 40 million could the lack of pre-sales be because people have not forgiven Will Smith for that that slap right there how much you want to make a better does and this is why I wanted to have this discussion with you y because I want to emphasize that right now as we see Will Smith and Martin Lawrence on the circuit promoting this new film Once Upon a Time you couldn’t find a bigger fan of Will Smith than me Mart Lawrence you can’t find a bigger fan of Martin Lawrence than me ladies and gentlemen in all likelihood I’m going to go see Bad Boys R to die because I’m such a huge Martin Lawrence fan and believe it or not I still will never stop being a Will Smith fan I’m not surprised at all that pre-sales have simmered it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it ultimately plummet plummeted once all is said and done and you know why I feel that way ladies and gentlemen because I think that I’m speaking not for everybody not for most but at the very least millions of people out there when I say what I’m about to say I’m not nearly as interested as seeing Will Smith in the movies than I am of seeing him doing an actual sitdown interview with somebody to explain why he did what he did now I want to emphasize This Will Smith apologized just days after that Infamous slap on March 27th 202 2 2 at the Oscars in writing then he went on his social media platform I believe it was Instagram four months later at which time he apologized again to Chris Rock articulated that he reached out to Chris Rock’s people and Chris rocks and and was told that Chris Rock wasn’t ready to sit down with him that’s not what he wanted to do and if you don’t believe me there here for yourself I’ve reached out to Chris um and the me the message that came back is that uh he’s not ready to talk and when he is he will reach out um so I will I will say to you um Chris I apologize to you uh my behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk fair enough normally under certain circumstances such as this as egregious as this was as much as Will Smith deserved to get his ass kicked for what he did being a bully somebody that’s 60 pounds at least heavier than Chris Rock I don’t think he would have done this to Mike Tyson I don’t think he would have done this to Jamie Fox I don’t think he would have done this to Snoop dog or 50 Cent or somebody like that he knew who he was doing it to and that’s the personification of a bully and in my opinion he deserved to get his ass kicked because of that back then but it’s not just about Chris Rock see as upset as I am and still remain to that degree that’s because Chris Rock is my friend and I know him but that ain’t the only reason the biggest issue that I have a problem with and I’m not saying or advocating any kind of violence like Will Smith deserves that now that all of this time has pass but at the very least the black community especially deserves seeing Will Smith sit down I don’t care if it’s with The Breakfast Club I don’t care if it’s with Oprah cuz you know it ain’t going to be me right you ain’t going to sit down with me cuz some question is going to get asked okay but I don’t care who it’s with you got to provide an explanation as to why that happened it can’t be that you went to therapy and you learned the error of your ways or you’ve addressed some of the demons that were plaguing you mentally and emotionally and spiritually that’s not good enough and even though we weren’t the ones that were slapped literally ladies and gentlemen figuratively the black community was slapped will Packer a big time producer who happens to be black was also the first black individual ever assigned to oversee the Oscars it was a live event his biggest live event of his career nationally televised on ABC reaching over 200 territories worldwide according to the numerous reports when Will Smith did what he did that didn’t just hurt Chris Rock it hurt will Packer’s production that became the story rather than the extraordinary Excellence his production talents exhibited for the world to see and instead of us talking about that we were talking about this so it was just Chris Rock it was also will Packer and it was also every Black producer that’s out there that’s aching for an opportunity to get this shot at producing a program like the Academy Awards that’s what Will Smith did thereafter did you see the movie emancipation Will Smith was Sensational Will Smith could have won an Oscar for that who is standing next to Will Smith that’s a black director that’s a Black producer his name is Antoine fuka one of the best in the world you ever see Olympus is falling you ever see Training Day you ever seen Antoine Fisher You Ever Seen The Equalizer movies with Denzel Washington I can’t even tell y’all about the movie that’s coming out on Michael Jackson oh my Lord that’s Antoine fuka one of the best on the planet he might have won an Oscar but Will Smith did what he did and that move came out I believe it was on Apple the next year or so residue from the infamous slack still permeating through in the minds hearts and souls of so many people in Hollywood but especially the black community black Excellence it’s all over the place ladies and gentlemen black folks don’t play in front of the camera behind the camera producers directors writers Talent everywhere all over the place it was on the verge of getting exponentially more noticed and then Will Smith did that and all of a sudden that became something that was attached to so many instead of their excellence Antoine fuka is incredible will Packer is incredible the staffs they have working for them that they’ve assembled are incredible Will Smith thought about none of that when he did what he did he didn’t think about the fact that Denzel Washington was just a few feet away from him and had to talk to him and get him calmed down cuz he was screaming keep my wife’s name out your effing mouth Tyler Perry was right there black Excellence all over the place either indirectly connected directly connected or inevitably attached and tarnished by Will Smith’s actions when we use the word forgivable or forgiveness that’s for Chris Rock to deal with this his call he could have had the man arrested that night and insisted to the LAPD that that not be the case could have pressed charges thereafter and insisted on not doing that to Will Smith not making the incident any bigger than what it was yes he came out with his own flip for next fix got about 20 million for it after tax he probably walked home with about six but Chris Rock is down damaged in that day and age of mental illness or traumatic incidences that affects one mind and psyche and what have you yeah you might see him at Nick’s games yeah you might see him still going about the business of performing on tour or doing his job or handling his business Chris Rock will never get over that ever Will Smith apologized I’m not saying he even has to apologize I’m saying that while I watch him and Martin Lawrence promoting this movie and I’m quite sure the reason he hasn’t addressed it is because the studios don’t want him to and there’s an obligation that you have with them all fear I get it but somewhere along the way he has to sit down and talk to the black you can see all the white people around Will Smith all you want to black folks have loved and revered this man for decades he was the closest thing to Perfection as his friend Charlie Mack once told me for decades everybody makes a mistake this is not hatred I Love Will Smith still but you got to have a conversation as to why you did that and when you’re apologizing and when you’re getting emotional and when you’re thinking about all the lives or the people that you’ve affected it’s primarily us as black people who have loved and supported you and watched you go on a n on a International stage and slap one of us in the face and tarnished an historic event for one of the great black producers of modern times and will Packer possibly costing yourself and Antoine fuku and Oscar for emancipation along the way I’m not going to say what you did to the comedic Community hell Jim Kerry spoke about that along with various others we know you wouldn’t have smacked Ricky Jas Bill mAh Bill Burr or a host of others we know you wouldn’t have done that no apology necessary I’m just saying a lot of folks ain’t get over that a lot of folks find it hard to just go to the movies to watch you I’m one of those people and I never missed a Will Smith movie Hitch concussion or all the bad boys movie from the first one to y’all with Gabrielle Union who by the way should have been in three and four by the way along with a host of other things I Am Legend Independence Day Men in Black one two and three Will Smith you’re phenomenal phenomenal Talent phenomenal actor phenomenal individual you lost your way one night we need to hear that from you I’m sorry that’s what I need to do before I look forward to seeing your movies again more than seeing a sit down let me go to the calls to get on out of here um for the weekend because I got a lot of stuff to do with the NBA finals and Beyond so that’s the way it is going to go number to call up is always is 888 72753 03 that’s 888 SAS s533 let’s go to Ernesto in Houston you’re live with Stephen A what’s up anesto how are you hey Stephen pretty good um my question is for the upcoming NFL season how do you uh project the Houston Texans um not only in the AFC but uh do you see them as like a top five team and I don’t know if I’m going to go hold let me stop you I don’t know if I’m going to go as far as top five or Nest though I’ve got them is one of the top three teams in the AFC I’m going with Kansas City I’m going with Baltimore and then after that I think it’s up for grabs between them Cincinnati Miami the Jets Buffalo I’ll even throw Cleveland and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the mix that’s how I got him and of course we can’t ignore um the AFC West and what’s transpiring there right now particularly with the San Diego Char the Los Angeles charges I’m sorry now that they got Jim Harbaugh as a coach so that’s where I’m at with it the Houston Texans are in the mix you got CJ stra you got Stefon Diggs there now you got the weapons that you have available there’s no question that they can make some noise we’ll see definitely appreciate it yeah no no problem thank you thanks a lot man take care on that James in Fargo North Dakota you’re live with Stephen A what’s up man how are you uh Hey Stephen so the Timberwolves captured a lot of interest and excitement with their playoff run and ultimately fell short which was disappointing uh is the bigger disappointment though that they failed to win the title with all these bizarre subplots uh the owner is trying to sell the team a month before a title run to a New York baseball player who blows it up uh coach gets his leg cut off on the sideline no no first of all respectfully we wish Chris Finch nothing but the best we hope that he heals 100% but he wasn’t dead he hurt his knee he was still at the game he was walking around with crutches he wasn’t dead so let’s not act like the dude had a heart attack or something like that okay he got his knee hurt when uh Mike connley Jr ran into him we understand that but he was still there even though somebody else was on the sidelines he was behind the bench but he was still coaching um in terms of ownership ownership had been going on for a long time Glen Taylor foolishly valued his franchise in the immediate aftermath of Co at 1.5 billion when with Anthony Edwards ascending now clearly there’s situation where they’re worth double the amount and that’s probably why he wants to get out of this deal I don’t think he will I think Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lorie signed an ironclad deal to get 60% of the franchise they’ve already paid for 40% of the franchise which was 600 million they owed another 300 million they tried to act like they didn’t make it in time but from what I was told they had the money for the deadline but Glen tiller didn’t want it because he wants to maintain majority control of the franchise because there’s abundance of people in Minnesota that don’t want him giving up that franchise they want him to keep it for as long as he’s alive even though he’s in his 80s so I don’t think that that’s a situation uh uh uh that tainted their run in any way I think the problem is is that Anthony Edwards is a superstar this brother’s box office I believe he is the heir app parent he is coming he is something special can they keep the pieces around him or Elevate the pieces around him remains to be seen But the biggest mistake that was made is that he opened his mouth and he talked to Kyrie Irving I want him I’m GNA now if you said to Kyrie Irving I’mma drop 40 on you that’s different because Anthony Edward can score on anybody but when you sit up there and say I want you I I’m guarding you to Kyrie Irvin that was a colossal mistake Kyrie Irvin started off that series with momentum Luca donic finished and that’s why they in the finals in the Minnesota timber wolves a home it’s that simple all right let’s go to Katie you’re live with Stephen A what’s up Katie how are you hi Stephen I’m good how are you all right how’s everything going talk to me pretty good pretty good talk to me I’m listening you’re live on air go ahead um so so I’m from Chicago but I’m currently in rovic Iceland and you’d be shocked to find out in rovic Caitlyn Clark is the Talk of the Town I’m not shocked by that I mean I didn’t know they paid attention to girls basketball over here but I’m super excited about it um I used to play against her and Angel Ree and aaou and I feel like you know all the focus is on Caitlyn Clark right now and my girl Angel Reese from Chicago is not getting enough love what do you think about the Rivalry between them and do you think too much focuses on Caitlyn Clark angrew Reese is a terrific talent that I think is going to do really really good in her WNBA career at least on the Collegiate level and in all likelihood on the WNBA career level she’s not the player that Caitlyn Clark is she can’t shoot from the logo she can’t pull up from the parking lot she don’t have that kind of ball handling skills and the sizzle to go along with her game Andrew Reese is a big body in terms of you know being a female basketball player she will rebound she will defend she will average a double double she will come up with with with winning elements to contribute to a winning formula for but she’s box office because she waved her hands in front of her face to mimic Caitlyn Clark while she was beating her down in the NCAA tournament in route to LSU winning a national championship and then we saw how they would re be Revisited and they’d have a rematch before Caitlyn Clark and Iowa exacted their Revenge on angrew Reese and LSU so that’s what we’re talking about here that’s what transpired but it’s all a byproduct of the stardom that comes associated with Caitlyn Clark Caitlyn Clark is is believed to be the Steph Curry of women’s basketball now Sabrina UNESCO and others may have something to say about that when all is said and done because they’ve got a resume and a reputation that is warranted in terms of them being worthy of more consideration than Caitlyn Clark but Caitlyn Clark this is her first year in there and if the Indiana F get her a better Coach and get better Talent around her who knows what she’s going to be able to do and you’re looking at that and she’s clearly box office they walk through the turn styles to see her they’re not saying that about angel Reet she’s not the only reason they watch the WNBA the Las Vegas Aces led by Asia Wilson who’s the real face of the WNBA that has a lot to do with it but Caitlyn Clark is a Transcendent figure that has generated profound interest in the WNBA and as I’ve said on many occasions it’s nothing to complain about milk it I mean I shouldn’t say anything because nothing because there are players that came before her that pounded that pavement black and white the terasi is the Sue birds of the world Banna stewards of the world unesco’s of the world Candace Parker’s of the world Lisa Leslie’s of the world Cheryl swoop Cynthia Cooper I mean the list just goes on and on and on of so many great players that came before Caitlyn Clark but they weren’t able to take the popularity of the WNBA to this level it’s a different time and if Caitlyn Clark gner is that kind of support while it’s fair to lament the fact that it should not have come to this for the WNBA to receive this support if you’re getting it focus on the fact that you’re getting it and use Caitlyn Clark to milk whatever you can in terms of cache popularity Etc to get what you want out of it because Rising tide can truly raise all boats got to get on out of here that’s it for this edition of the Steph A Smith show I hope y’all enjoyed the show I got to get on out of here have a wonderful weekend I got to get set to cover game two of the NBA finals in Boston Boston’s up 1 with porzingis looking the way he looks if that continues I can’t see the Mavs winning this series even though I pick the Mavs to win in six because I assume that porzingis will not beat as healthy but my God it’s something to behold Dallas Mavs have to be ready for game two Sunday night night if they not if they are not they’re in a world of trouble we’ll revisit that conversation that portion of the conversation on Monday until then this is Stephen a signing off peace and love everybody have a blessed and wonderful weekend God bless