NBA analyst Kenny Smith is trying to explain away his comments about New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu that were met with backlash.
The “NBA on TNT” panelist found himself in some hot water after making a remark during the Steph Curry vs. Ionescu 3-point competition that some fans had deemed condescending toward the WNBA player.
Smith had been making a convoluted point about the distance in which the two pro basketball players were shooting from as broadcast partner and former NBAer Reggie Miller said, “According to you, you want her to be playing with dolls.”
“And there’s nothing wrong with playing with dolls,” Smith retorted a few minutes later.
The awkward exchange drew a negative reaction on social media, but Smith claimed during an appearance on the “Stephen A. Smith Show” that the controversy was “much ado about nothing.”
“Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about,” Smith said. “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.”
Curry and Ionescu had been facing one another for the first time in an NBA vs. WNBA 3-point challenge during the weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities in Indianapolis.
Curry just edged out Ionescu 29-26 to win the inaugural event.
While addressing the comments about dolls, Smith said that his first thought had been about what issue was there about playing dolls when Miller made the joke.
“You should play with dolls, and you can do sports,” Smith said.
The former NBA player criticized the fact that people were so quick to judge a situation without knowing all the details.
“Most people just don’t check the tape, they want to just check the bait,” he said.