Stephen A. Smith’s screaming turned fans off before Game 7
Kendrick Perkins was testing Stephen A. Smith’s last nerve on Sunday night, and they both did the same for millions of viewers.
During the NBA Finals Game 7 pregame show on ESPN, Smith and Perkins went back and forth in a broadcast that could be heard with the TV muted.
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It began with Smith accusing Perkins of “really annoying me today” in a fiery rant.
“This is a man, that is a champion. He’s talking about a Game 7, like you know what, ‘Hey cat’s going to step up,’” Smith said said of his co-panelist while progressively raising his voice. “No, somebody’s palms are going to get sweaty. Backside going to get tight. Somebody. It always happens in a Game 7.”
With his voice reaching a shout, he added that Perkins “knows this [about Game 7’s being pressure-filled] because he is a champion.”
“Not only that, but when they lost in Game 7, you were injured and didn’t play. Had you played, you may have beaten the Lakers,” Smith said, referencing Perkins missing Game 7 against the Lakers while he was a member of the Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals.
Ex-Warriors president Bob Myers quickly came to the defense of Perkins and called Smith out for his comments, as well as his tone on the show.
“Can I defend your honor here?” Myers asked Perkins. “Just because you yell something doesn’t mean it’s true.”
As the show went to air on ABC for the national broadcast, Smith somehow kicked it up a notch — and multiple decibels.
“You know, [panel host Malika Andrews], so wonderful to see you tonight. Bob Myers, get the hell up. Big Perk, this is what it’s all about, baby. This is Game 7, this is Game 7!,” he said to open a minute-and-a-half long diatribe in which his voice broke as the volume continued to go up. “That’s what tonight is about: the World is watching — not just America, the WORLD. Everybody across the world is watching. THIS is what you live for.”
“I can promise you, this man right here embodies the energy that all of us feel, but not all of us have outwardly,” Andrews said in response.
The Game 7 pregame show switches over from ESPN to ABC, and Stephen A. Smith opens it with much more yelling. 🏀📺🎙️ #NBA #NBAFinals https://t.co/SR8LNrlV7u pic.twitter.com/mHHrEaDXh3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 22, 2025
Not everyone was feeling that energy, however.
“Bob Myers deserves better,” Bulls play-by-play man Chuck Swirsky wrote on X. “This is utter nonsense. Who wants to put up with this? Seriously.”
“Fantastic pregame coverage,” Fox Sports’ Geoff Schwartz posted. “Who is this for?”
“Unwatchable,” Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman wrote, adding “I also can’t believe Bob Myers signed up for this.”
Former Fox Sports president and co-founder of Big Ten Network Bob Thompson put his feelings — and seemingly those of countless viewers — about Smith’s antics rather succinctly:
“Does he actually do anything but yell?” he posted to X.
Smith’s performance came in the last game before the “Inside the NBA” crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith move over from TNT for a significant role pre- and postgame in ESPN’s NBA coverage next season.
The Thunder went on to win Game 7 by a 103-91 score for the franchise’s first title on Sunday night, at least giving fans a chance to drown out Smith with some yelling of their own.
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