Stephen A. Smith may have taken a bullet this time with his comments on the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant. A former NBA Player Rashad McCants has reacted to the analysts’ bold comments against Bryant and has given him the heat for his analysis.
Smith’s comments are getting a lot of former players to speak up as they find the analysts’ comments disrespectful towards the late Black Mamba. Alongside McCants, a former teammate of Kobe also spoke up against Smith’s comments.
Rashad McCants goes off on Stephen A. Smith over Kobe Bryant narrative
Former NBA player Rashad McCants appeared on the Gilbert Arenas show and couldn’t hold himself back from going after the popular analyst Stephen A. Smith. Smith’s comments have caused a big stir in the world of basketball as he tried to diminish the late Kobe Bryant as not a player comparable to Michael Jordan or LeBron James.
Smith said that the Lakers were able to establish their remarkable three-peat because of a prime NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal. He also said that Bryant is not the second-greatest player in NBA history and not the greatest Laker of all time. He ended his statements by showing respect for Bryant and naming him as a player in his top 10 but not top 5.
Rashad was furious with Smith’s remarks as he has been a “Kobe is the greatest” advocate for a long time.
Having the opportunity, he exploded on Arenas’ show and said, “You did not have that same energy when he was here. Where was this energy when he was alive? Stop bringing a man who has passed away to extend your narrative… Let the man rest and Let us keep him wherever everyone has him.”
Former Kobe Bryant teammate reacts to analyst’s Kobe Bryant take
Stephen A. Smith posted the clip where he called out Kobe as not being the number two in the discussion of greatest of all time in basketball on his official Instagram handle. The clip got a lot of reactions from a variety of people.
Smith can be seen comparing former Lakers ace Kobe Bryant’s stats with current Lakers ace LeBron James and using it as a reason to push his narrative of Kobe not being in the top 2 of all time.
This has enraged a lot of people and a former teammate of Kobe, Matt Barnes, commented his view on Smith’s take on his Instagram reel.
Barnes who is now an analyst for ESPN and NBC wrote, “This is all opinion-based.. but there is a reason a lot of former Players rank Kob so high.” The former Lakers played called Smith’s take opinion-based and posed a clever argument against it. He called on the statements of other players who have played in the league at a high level and their opinion of putting Kobe in the top two which gains an edge over Smith’s take.
What do you think about Rashad McCants’ response to Stephen A. Smith? Do you think that Smith’s take on Kobe Bryant is justified? We are eager to hear your thoughts, so drop down in the comments and let us know.
