Stephen A. Smith and other sports media personalities are well-known for analyzing various sports, including basketball. There is no doubt that they often have takes that are found controversial by both fans and players alike.
Kevin Durant has recently called out Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless, and Shannon Sharpe, claiming that they have “changed the game for the worse”, while adding players like Stephen Curry and Michael Jordan “can only push the game forward”:
“My theory is that guys like steve, skip and Shannon have changed the game for the worse. Playas like Stephen and Michael can only push the game forward.”
Stephen A. Smith issued a response to Kevin Durant calling him and other media personalities out, claiming that Durant is “entitled” to his opinion but added that media members aren’t going anywhere:
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion. Love both MJ and Stephen Curry. Was only alluding to MJ being so great, it enticed folks to focus on individuality instead of team. Nothing more. As for us changing the game for the worse, we disagree. But here’s the news for you Kevin Durant. We ain’t going any damn place. For every Stephen A Smith, Skip, Shannon Sharpe and others, there’s thousands more coming down the pike. We’re not going away. We multiply. Sorry!!!!
There is no doubt that there are a lot of media members who make comments about the game, and sometimes those comments can be negatively received or incendiary. It can definitely be annoying for players to see hot takes, especially if those takes can affect how they are perceived by the general public.
However, it is unlikely that we see basketball media go away anytime soon. As Stephen A. Smith mentions, there are “thousands more” media members for every single big talking head personality. Hopefully, in time, we see media members give less controversial takes, while still helping the game continue to grow in popularity.
