The New Orleans Pelicans appear firmly entrenched in Stephen A. Smith's crosshairs.
Over the past few months, Smith has drawn attention to Pelicans star Zion Williamson's weight. However, Smith's most recent criticism of Williamson sparked a dispute between the Pelicans' social media team and the high-profile television personality.
“Zion Williamson, it's not about his game,” Smith said last week during an appearance on ESPN's “Get Up.”
“It's about how many hamburgers he eats. Whether he's going to stay fit or keep eating McDonald's… That's what he has to prove, that chefs don't love him anymore.”
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Television personality Stephen A. Smith leaves Fox 29's “Good Day” at FOX 29 Studios after promoting his book, “Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes” on January 19, 2023 in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
The comments appeared to lead the Pelicans to release a graphic showing Smith's statistics from his 1990-91 basketball season. The Pelicans also shared a video on X, the company formerly known as Twitter, in which Smith makes a series of sports-related mistakes.
“You don't mind trolling me, I can take it,” Smith said in response to the video during a recent edition of his podcast “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
“See, do you realize that at Division II Winston-Salem State I could have been on the court averaging 20-25 [points] One game and I still wouldn't compare myself to any of you who made it to the NBA? Do you understand that I know that no matter how you overlook something, I mean, I or anyone else, I don't compare to you?
Smith noted that he suffered an injury in 1989, which he directly attributed to his low scoring average during the season in question.
“I got hurt… 1989, I broke my kneecap in half. They told me I might never be able to walk the same again, and although I kept my scholarship, I was nothing more than a practice player because I couldn't run up and down. of the court more than three or four times without limping. How do we know this? Because I'm 56 years old and I still limp after running for a while. Smith said.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson heads to the sideline in the second half of a game against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 6, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Smith acknowledged that his basketball prowess doesn't compare to Williamson or his teammates because they are professional players. But he also took some hits against the Pelicans franchise in the process.
“I couldn't shine Zion's shoes, or CJ McCollum, or Brandon Ingram, or any of them,” Smith said. “That's why you guys are in the NBA and I'm not. But let me tell you something about New Orleans. Because we want to be up here and we want to make sure we're as complete as possible. Let's talk about the New Orleans Pelicans franchise for a second.
“They are in their 22nd season in New Orleans since moving from Charlotte. Ladies and gentlemen, do you know that by being named the Hornets and then the Pelicans, they have as many names as they have playoff series wins in 22 years? I've won two playoff series playoffs in 22 years. You have the same number of playoff series wins as you have names! And you're talking about me? At least I'm not robbing the public by getting paid. For not doing what I'm doing, we're supposed to do, which is winning.”
Smith turned to Pelican analyst Antonio Daniels, who described the “First Take” host's initial comments as “inappropriate and vague.”
Stephen A. Smith before Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets on June 1, 2023 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. (Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I was joking about Zion Williamson not eating much. We need him healthy, with a good diet to be strong and powerful. I didn't mean he's not doing it now, I said it as a concern, Antonio Daniels. I meant it as a concern, New Orleans Pelicans. I was half joking because I'm rooting for the kid and I'm rooting for the franchise,” Smith said.
The Pelicans appeared to continue the feud with Smith by posting a meme that featured three messages that read, “I'm not going to watch all that,” “I'm happy for you though,” and “I'm sorry for what happened,” in an apparent response. to Smith's 10-minute video.
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The Pelicans currently sit in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 34-24 record.
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