The NBA season is formally over and, with the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder profitable its first championship, the league is on the cusp of a brand new period. Other than the sports activities group itself, there’s been discuss of how the media panorama round it’s evolving. On Sunday, NBA Countdown co-host Malika Andrews’ sign-off made it sound as if this system could be over. That ultimately led to all kinds of feedback on social media concerning Stephen A. Smith.
Malika Andrews’ messaging was a bit complicated, contemplating it appeared NBA Countdown and Inside The NBA would co-exist after it was acquired by ESPN. For those who did not stick round for the very finish of Sport 7 of the NBA finals, here is what she mentioned (through @AwfulAnnouncing):
I wish to thank our whole manufacturing crew, whose expertise and tireless work on this present made every little thing doable. Thanks to Kendrick Perkins, Bob Myers, and Stephen A. Smith, and with gratitude and admiration, we wish to welcome Inside The NBA subsequent season. It has been an honor to be on this stage.
It was beforehand reported that Inside The NBA and its crew could be a key a part of ESPN’s basketball protection. Nevertheless, Andrews’ feedback make it sound just like the TNT-acquired program can be taking up the pre and postgame protection of main video games on the community. Whereas the web did not initially have an issue with this, others began to leap out forward of the community and make it clear that they did not wish to see Stephen A. Smith showing alongside Charles Barkley or Shaq subsequent season:
- Please preserve Stephen A off the tv 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 – @BillMuellerMMA
- Now for the love of god, preserve Stephen A and Perkins away from them – @disc_vinyl
- Screamin’ A is completely unwatchable. I actually needed to mute my TV in pregame til Richard Jefferson got here on. – @BAGF_E
- Poor Malika Andrews and Bob Myers. They deserve higher. This NBA countdown present is unwatchable. Shaq, Ernie, Kenny and Charles can’t begin quickly sufficient. – @CoachWilkes3
- NBA Countdown is so, so dangerous. – @dylanrettinger
The final consensus is that folks do not wish to see Stephen A. Smith or Kendrick Perkins and, as somebody who watches each NBA Countdown and Inside The NBA, I perceive. Whereas each exhibits are inclined to skew extra towards prioritizing leisure over precise basketball evaluation, Countdown leans extra into narratives and scorching takes whereas Inside is extra comedic.
Making an attempt to mix the 2 would not really feel like a terrific concept, particularly provided that massive sports activities pundit Stephen A. Smith is not usually identified for his comedic facet. In reality, he is most identified for his high-profile feuds with athletes, most not too long ago his back-and-forth with LeBron James.
James appeared on The Pat McAfee Present to name out Stephen A. Smith after the 2 had an on-court confrontation following a sport weeks earlier than. The feud escalated to the purpose that NBA commissioner Adam Silver needed to touch upon it, noting it wasn’t one thing he wished to see occur.
Past followers worrying that Stephen A. Smith or different ESPN names can be added to the Inside The NBA crew, there are others who doubt the community will efficiently recapture the magic that made the collection nice on TNT. Sports activities journalist Invoice Simmons talked about that ESPN’s approach of airing Countdown could be disastrous for Inside. Extra particularly, Simmons opined that the construction would not permit for the lengthy segments that create all the enduring moments amongst Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson and co.
We’ll simply have to attend till this fall to see how ESPN runs Inside The NBA, and to see if this really is the tip of NBA Countdown. For now, all eyes are on the upcoming NBA Draft, as groups look to higher their probabilities of profitable within the Finals this time subsequent yr or past.