Stephen A. Smith has landed himself in hot water after giving out his top-5 NBA players of all-time.

Kobe Bryant played in the NBA for 20 years and in most of them, he was one of the best players in the league. When his career was over, he was a 5-time champion, 2-time NBA Finals MVP, 1-time NBA MVP, 15-time All-NBA team, and 12-time defensive team.

Bryant is arguably one of the best players to ever play in the NBA, but not good enough to make it on Stephen A. Smith’s top-5 list

Here’s his explanation as to why Kobe did not make his list:

“Kobe doesn’t make the top five because Kobe was measured against MJ and MJ played the same position, had the same style of playing, MJ was number one. So for me when I think about Magic, even though Kobe was a better individual talent, Kobe didn’t lead and galvanized to the degree that Magic did. Magic was the dude that got everybody else better, that got everybody else on their game. Kobe would drop 80 on you right, but Magic would accumulate 80 by having 20 points and 20 assists and making sure that this dude and that dude got fed, and it led to 5 championships and nine title appearances.”

“Motherf***er’ We’ll Fire Your Ass Tomorrow”- Shaquille O’Neal Reveals Rocky Start and Secret to Success on “Inside the NBA”

Shaquille O’Neal (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch)
“Inside The NBA,” featuring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Shaquille O’Neal, is widely regarded as the best basketball show on television. During a recent appearance on “The Draymond Green Show,” Shaquille O’Neal opened up about his challenging transition from player to analyst and the secret behind the show’s success.

Shaq shared that his initial foray into broadcasting was not smooth. He revealed that the radio network threatened to fire him if he didn’t change his approach.

“When I joined Inside The NBA,] I wanted to be the black Brian Gumbel and use big words and do all that. TNT said, ‘Motherf***er’ we’ll fire your ass tomorrow. Be you,” he said.

Shaq then shared the recipe for the show’s success, mentioning its unique blend of humor and basketball analysis.

“We crack jokes, we do a lot of stuff. For the fans who have to work in the morning, if we’re gonna keep you up past your bedtime the least we want to do is entertain you,” he added.

Shaquille O’Neal Supports Draymond Green’s Addition to Inside The NBA

The Golden State Warriors’ star Draymond Green recently joined the team at Inside The NBA. Unfortunately, his outspoken comments about Rudy Gobert drew criticism. Nevertheless, his colleague Shaquille O’Neal came to his defense.

On Green’s podcast, Shaq expressed his support for TNT’s decision to get Green onboard, citing his intelligence and humor.

“I think the reason why they hired you [is] you’re very intelligent. You’re definitely one of us. You know how to crack jokes,” O’Neal said.