ESPN Analyst Stephen A. Smith Sparks Debate with Remarks on the Race of the Lakers' Top Trio
Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler of the Los Angeles Lakers are statistically the best overall trio in the NBA this season. Yet ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith says the trio is not good enough to win a championship.
Smith does not cite their play as the reason. He cites their skin colour instead; all three players are White.
Smith said he does not think the Lakers are getting past the second round and would be shocked if they did. He said he has never seen an NBA team with its top players being White deliver a championship, that it has never happened, and that he does not think it will happen this year.
He added that there has never been, in his lifetime, an NBA team led by its top three White players that delivered a championship when an abundance of Black players are playing basketball.
Smith first made this argument in July, though he presented it differently. Then he claimed he had never seen a team with three White stars win a championship, and clarified that he never said it could not happen. This time he repeatedly dismissed the possibility.
The report notes that Smith provides no basketball explanation for why three White players cannot lead a team to a title.
The context given in the report points to the racial breakdown of the NBA as the simplest explanation for why such a trio is rare. White players make up roughly 17% of the league, compared with about 75% for Black players, so fewer White players means fewer White stars and a lower likelihood that three will play on the same team.
The report also notes that despite the league-leading production from Doncic, Reaves and Kessler, the Lakers have just the 10th-best championship odds, with the concern being the supporting cast around them.
