ESPN First Take and SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith is doubling down on his belief that the Lakers won't win the NBA championship. Over the summer, Smith said he believes the Lakers won't win the NBA championship, arguing that a team led by “three white dudes” wouldn't win an NBA title.
“Where the h–l the Los Angeles Lakers think they're going with a bunch of white dudes,” Smith said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “Your top 3 players are white dudes. This ain't golf; this ain't baseball. It ain't even soccer. In NBA history, when have you seen your three most prominent players on a basketball team all be white and that takes you to the promised land? Somebody gotta say it, so I'm saying it.”
He doubled down in a recent edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show, despite the Lakers' early-season success and Luka Doncic emerging as an MVP frontrunner.
“I am on the record for being controversial because I’ve never seen an NBA team with its top three players being white deliver a championship. It’s never happened and I’m here to tell you I don’t think it’s going to happen this year.”
He then ran through the other contenders in the West, pointing to injuries in Oklahoma City, Denver’s wear, and Minnesota’s strength.
“The injuries to the Oklahoma City Thunder have not gone unnoticed. Denver is looking a bit worn down even though Jokic and Murray still lead them. It’s possible. I think Minnesota is a team to be reckoned with, with LaMelo Ball and Ant Man. You can’t ignore them, but Luka has given it to Minnesota in the postseason before, so who knows what the hell’s going to happen with that?”
Smith acknowledged the Lakers have a chance, but he doesn’t believe it will turn into a title.
“The Lakers got a chance. I just don’t think it’s going to materialize into a championship.”