Kenny Smith’s All-Star Weekend comments on Sabrina Ionescu have the internet buzzing, but he’s not backing down. He recently told Stephen A. Smith that he was advocating for Sabrina when he suggested she should have shot from the WNBA line against Stephen Curry.
The first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-point contest was nearly soured by comments made by TNT analyst Kenny Smith. Kenny surmised that Sabrina Ionescu should have shot from the WNBA line against Stephen Curry to make things “fair.” He also compared the contest to why gender-specific tees are used in golf.
Basketball fans immediately roasted him, but Kenny argued that he was advocating for Sabrina during a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith show. (See the clip below and the 23:03 mark of the YouTube video.)
Kenny Smith on criticism of his Sabrina Ionescu comments:
"Much ado about nothing honestly. Most people who know basketball understood…I was advocating for her more than anything else…
…
"My…track record speaks for itself"Full SAS talk at 22m30s: https://t.co/YunKZ9gQy5 pic.twitter.com/Bnn7xama5t
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) February 20, 2024
Here’s what Smith said:
“I think it’s much ado about nothing, Stephen. Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her more than anything else.“
Kenny tells Stephen A. that basketball is muscle memory and that if you are not shooting from where you practice, it will mess with your accuracy. He admits that both players could have made other adjustments but re-emphasizes that muscle memory is at one line.
What stands out most about his new comments is that Kenny quips, “Most people just don’t check the tape. They want just to check the bait.” (24:56 mark of the above video) The irony is that if he had bothered to check the tape on Sabrina, he would have known she didn’t shoot from the WNBA line. When she tweeted that she would shoot from the NBA line, it was because that was already her normal range.
For example, during an August 2023 game, Sabrina made six three-pointers well beyond the WNBA line. At the 1:14 mark of the video below, the broadcast can be heard saying, “Look at how deep she is, and that is normal range for her.” She likely couldn’t shoot as many 3-pointers as Steph Curry during the contest because she isn’t shooting that kind of high volume regularly (over 15 consecutive shots), not because she isn’t capable.
Sabrina earned the same amount of points during her shootout with Steph as Damian Lillard, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trae Young, and Tyrese Haliburton did from the same NBA line. How quickly people forget that Sabrina owns the 3-point contest record for both the WNBA and NBA. Steph Curry does not hold that record despite being the greatest shooter ever. So, Sabrina almost taking down the metaphorical Thanos of basketball on her first try should speak volumes about her abilities.
