NBA analyst Kenny Smith stirred up a bit of controversy over All-Star weekend due to his commentary surrounding the three-point shooting contest between Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu.
Right after the competition, Smith suggested that Ionescu, who was shooting from the NBA’s three-point range, should have shot from the WNBA line. Smith doubled down on his stance during a Monday appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show.
Smith maintained that “it’s much ado about nothing” and that people were misunderstanding the context of his comments.
Smith stated that he never intended any disrespect to Ionescu, and that he felt that she was at a disadvantage due to the fact that Curry makes a living shooting from the NBA’s three-point line, and has thus developed superior muscle memory for shooting from that range.
“Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her, more than anything else, because basketball is muscle memory. So he practices from one range, she practices from another.
“There’s even a study … the guy who throws darts. And if you move him out even one step, his accuracy changes dramatically. ... So I’m like, ‘Why is [Curry] getting the advantage, to shoot at his line? That’s an advantage. It’s not gender, it’s not genetics,” said Smith.
Smith had a bit of a back and forth with Reggie Miller live on air, who responded to him by saying, “Well, according to you, you want her just playing with dolls.”
“I think when Reggie was joking around about, “Oh, she can play with dolls. … I have daughters, my thought when I first heard that was, ‘What’s wrong with that?' You should play with dolls, and you can do sports,” Smith explained on Monday.
Smith is aware of the backlash he’s received since those comments, but he maintained that it wasn't meant as a sign of disrespect to Ionescu, and certainly wasn’t meant to stir up controversy.
“Most people just don’t check the tape, they want to just check the bait. My history and track record speaks for itself,” Smith said.
