As they do pretty much every day, the folks over at ESPN’s First Take spent part of Thursday morning arguing over another NBA topic that has very little substance and is meant to rile up anyone who happens to be watching.
There are no winners in these moments when debate is embraced because winning isn’t the point. Being outrageous and loud and capturing 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 the criticism of Kevin Durant by trying to answer the question of whether or not Stephen Curry made the NBA worse—which, no, of course he didn’t. But in his rant, Stephen A. said the real culprit who hurt the NBA was in fact….Michael Jordan.
You know, the guy who almost singlehandedly turned the NBA into a worldwide phenomenon. Smith’s reasoning is pretty much irrelevant because the topic itself is nonsense.
Durant wasn’t having it, either.
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. 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 some day but Shannon’s IQ for the game was built by nba twitter lol
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 2, 2022
This is not the first time Durant has logged on to give Stephen A. a hard time and knowing KD it won’t be the last, either.
If you want to argue shows like Undisputed, First Take and the like are all harmless fun, I hear ya. These are the debates happening in group chats, bars and everywhere basketball is played. The appeal is there. But the shine certainly wears off when the conversation always returns to the sillier fringes of “who ruined basketball”.
It’s the start of the NBA Finals, after all, surely there are better topics to debate.
