Draymond Green and Stephen A. Smith have been at odds in recent times. Fans who are not well informed should know that Stephen A. is one of the most prominent basketball reporters and media members. He has been covering the league for decades and reportedly also has personal relationships with several stars and high-ranking officials in the various teams across the NBA.
Since Draymond’s season with the Golden State Warriors is already over, he has been free to work on his own podcast and share his personal take. In fact, the Warriors star was even invited to be a part of Shaquille O’Neal’s podcast due to the fact that both of them are on the Inside the NBA panel and will cover the Western Conference Finals.
As Shaq and Draymond discussed a wide variety of issues, there was a point in time when Green took the opportunity to call out Stephen A. Smith. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Draymond Green accuses Stephen A. Smith of “going with the narrative”
This is quite an interesting difference of opinion that Draymond Green highlighted. As many fans should know, Green has engaged in questionable on-court antics throughout this season and was even suspended for some of his actions. As a result, the NBA media attacked him on air and some even stated that he needed mental health counseling or some form of therapy in order to become a better person.
Stephen A. Smith did not attempt to challenge the attacks made against Draymond Green despite having known him personally for a long time. Draymond revealed that this made him lose a great amount of respect for Stephen A.
“You get the opportunity to talk about me and listen, I know you got a job to do…But not at one point did you say y’all are saying this person is f*cked up and this person needs help. Now I know the person. Say what you want about the basketball player. Thats fine. But I know the person.
“To sit back & see those that claim to know & appreciate me as a human being just blow with the narrative that was easy. I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people.”
Draymond Green on Stephen A. Smith and those who criticized him.
(via @bigpodwithshaq)pic.twitter.com/aMmr2UjjBG
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 22, 2024
Draymond continued, “But to sit back and see those that claim to know and appreciate me as a human being just flow with the narrative because it was easy to do? I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people.”
Upon hearing that Draymond wanted Stephen A. to stand up for him, many members of the basketball community disagreed with his take. After all, Green’s behavior throughout this season made it nearly impossible for anyone to defend him at any level. Stephen A. soon heard about Draymond’s statement and gave his side of the narrative when on air.
Stephen A Smith’s response to Draymond’s allegations
Since Draymond Green claimed that he lost respect for Smith, the sports media personality hit back at Draymond with those exact same words. Stephen A. claimed that there had been countless times in the past where he defended Green but is simply unable to continue doing so as the Warriors’ star continues to behave in a questionable manner.
“Draymond Green just went on a national podcast… said that he lost respect for me. Now I’ve lost respect for him… I give over 3,000 takes a year… I’ve given over 40,000 takes throughout my career… I pride myself on being fair.”
—Stephen A. Smithpic.twitter.com/ItsmxlsdmR https://t.co/sFAL5VhY1Q
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 23, 2024
In any case, there is no denying that the personal relationship between Draymond Green and Stephen A. Smith will be affected due to this beef between them. Fans are left wondering how all future interactions will go down.