The ongoing feud between Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James continues to captivate sports enthusiasts, with Jemele Hill adding a fascinating perspective to the narrative. During a 2-hour livestream from The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Thursday night, Hill explored the intricate relationship between the NBA and ESPN. The conflict has escalated to the point where commissioner Adam Silver weighed in during a press conference. Hill pointed out that the tensions surrounding James are not the first instance that the league may have interfered with Smith’s role in ESPN’s basketball coverage.
“That was the long rumor for a while, that part of the reason that Stephen A. was not more prominent in some of the pregame coverage was because the NBA was blocking that,” Hill stated. “They had particular opinions about him being part of some of their flagship properties.” This raises the question of whether the NBA influenced Smith’s absence from certain platforms while he worked at ESPN.
Smith, during his initial tenure at ESPN from 2003 to 2008, capitalized on his background with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers for The Philadelphia Inquirer to join ESPN’s NBA pregame show. However, after a contract disagreement in 2008, he left to return to the Inquirer and host radio for Fox Sports. After rejoining ESPN in 2012 as a full-time cohost of First Take, he did not return to NBA Shootaround (now NBA Countdown) until 2021, when a contract extension allowed him to shift from ESPN Radio to a full-time role on NBA Countdown alongside Michael Wilbon and others.
Did the NBA influence this gap? According to Hill, this seemed to be a well-known fact in Bristol. Regardless, the league will soon have less to ponder. This fall, ESPN will start licensing Inside the NBA as its gameday studio show, and under his new contract, Stephen A. Smith will reportedly no longer regularly feature on Countdown or any NBA programming.
