Beefs between NBA analysts have been a hot topic lately, and one of them had former NFL player Emmanuel Acho pull out the athlete card. In his recent segment on Speakeasy, the player-turned-analyst discussed Stephen A. Smith’s comments about Zion Williamson’s fitness as an athlete.
Smith called Williamson a “food addict” and claimed that the New Orleans Pelicans were pursuing him to balance his weight. However, the NBA analyst’s statement has not sat well with some fans and analysts.
Discussing with his crew on his podcast, SPEAKEASY, Acho highlighted the difficulty level of getting into the top league and said:
“People get on me, I show your career, its your career and I hear them. But for like what is hard for me is literally people who didn’t make it to the league like it’s near impossible. There 28000 eligible draft picks and like 300 get drafted. So when I hear the likes of Stephen A or like a Skip Bayless and all of them cats, who literally didn’t play at all… you gotta be a little mindful, you were never in an nba huddle.”
Acho then blasted Stephen A. Smith for his remarks on the Pels’ young forward and also suggested Williamson fix his act and get into hustle mode. He added:
“You actually don’t know the pressure or the stressors that Zion is facing, now I am with Shady bro. Like fix your addictions whatever your addictions are, whether they’re you know only fans models or whether its eating oysters char grill, fix it whayever you’re but I think Stephen went too far.”
Smith is known for his upfront takes on social media and his show, First Take, on ESPN, and never backs down from his statements.
Notably, this was not the first time the ESPN analyst has criticized Zion Williamson. He has earlier talked about his injury woes and body size. However, this time, even the Pelicans team’s social media account came to the star’s rescue and had an online scuffle with Smith.
Pelicans come to the rescue of Zion Williamson
The Pelicans are 13th in the Western Conference, even after Zion Williamson was available for a majority of the regular season. This has sparked fans and analysts to question his ability to uplift the franchise after the management decided to extend his rookie contract to a max 5-year, $197.2 million deal.
Stephen A. Smith was one of the naysayers, but the Pelicans showed that the team is still behind its young star, who is in the third year of his 5-year contract. The team’s X account posted a video, taking a jab at Smith for his statement on Williamson, and wrote:
“Stick to solitaire Stephen”
Zion Williamson is averaging 21.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this season, but it has not helped the team’s cause. However, one positive the team will take from this season will be the addition of Derik Queen as a rookie. He is averaging 12 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, leading the franchise in rebounds and assists.
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