Cade Cunningham has already amassed a pretty impressive lineup of highlights. The 20-year-old rookie is showing plenty of star potential and looks to be a draw for fans all around the league.
Recently, he was asked to name a celebrity he’d like to dunk on, and his answer raised quite a lot of eyebrows in the NBA community.
“Celeb? I want to dunk on Stephen A. Smith. And that’s viral quick! Yeah, I want to dunk Stephen A.”
On the surface, Stephen A. and Cunningham don’t appear to have any beef. The ESPN broadcaster hasn’t really called him out or criticized his game.
But it’s not hard to imagine why he’s so eager to put the guy on the wrong end of a poster. As ESPN’s most famous and prominent voice, he’s always saying something about certain players or certain times. Sometimes, it can lead to come heated exchanges on social media.
Earlier this month, for example, Kevin Durant fired back after Smith questioned his legacy as a basketball player.
“Steve, since u decided to use ESPN to push your personal agendas, im sure your minions will run with this story for you, but if u believe this is what my career is defined by then you just a flat out hater. It’s gonna be hard to box the god in,” said Durant.
There’s also the time Stephon Marbury went off in a heated rant against Stephen A. Smith for his stance on Kyrie Irving:
“This is what happens when you have people like this guy, who’s animated, not realistic about what it is that he speaks and talks about,” said Marbury. “He played a little bit of basketball, but come on, seriously? You letting this guy talk to you about sports? This guy never got hit in a football game, he never swung a bat, and this is the person who they have speaking and talking about what’s going on in sports? Man, you need to defund his voice.”
So, it’s clear to see that Stephen A. isn’t necessarily on the best of terms with some players — both active and former. It is just part of the territory that comes with the job.
As for Cunningham, it’s unlikely he’ll ever get his wish to dunk on Stephen A. Smith. But we can expect him to bite back on the day the esteemed ESPN insider finally calls him out.
That should make for some good entertainment, at the very least.
