'NBA on TNT' analyst Kenny Smith doubles down on Steph vs. Sabrina comments
"NBA on TNT" analyst Kenny Smith doubled down on comments he made during the the Steph vs. Sabrina competition broadcast at NBA All-Star weekend about a perceived disadvantage he thought Sabrina Ionescu had when competing against Stephen Curry.
"I think it's much ado about nothing," Smith said in an episode of the "Stephen A. Smith Show" that published Monday night. "Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her more than anything else because basketball is all muscle memory. So, he practices from one range, she practices from the other.
"There's even a study with somebody who's throwing darts — the guy who throws darts. And if you move him back one step, his accuracy changes dramatically. But the funny thing about it, if you move him in one step, his accuracy changes because you take so many shots from the exact same thing. 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 genetic, it's an advantage. Shooting is only muscle memory. That's what people who don't play the sport don't understand, it's all muscle memory."
The Steph vs. Sabrina event took place Saturday night in Indianapolis and matched up Curry of the Golden State Warriors against Ionescu of the WNBA's New York Liberty in a one-on-one three-point shooting contest. Ionescu shot with a WNBA regulation-sized ball, which is slightly smaller than the NBA one, but shot from the NBA three-point line, which is slightly farther than the WNBA one.
Curry won the contest, 29-26.
During the broadcast, once the event had concluded, Smith said on air that Ionescu "should have shot from the three-point line that the women shoot from" to eliminate any potential disadvantage she may have had going against Curry, widely seen as the best shooter in the NBA.
Ionescu's score of 26 in the event matched the highest mark scored by any NBA player, including eventual champion Damian Lillard, during the 2024 3-point contest.
What perhaps further invalidates Smith's point about a perceived advantage is that Ionescu, who ranked third in the WNBA this season in three-point percentage (44.8%), is known for her range and often takes deep threes from — and beyond — NBA distance during her games. Therefore, it's arguably flawed to assume that Ionescu doesn't practice shots from NBA three-point distance.
Ionescu also led the WNBA in 2023 with 128 made three-point shots, 11 more than the next closest player.
Smith was joined on the NBA All-Star broadcast Saturday with fellow analyst Reggie Miller and play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan. After Smith made his comments on air about Ionescu needing to shoot from the WNBA line, Miller pushed back and asked why Smith was putting boundaries on Ionescu.
"That’s what the game is," Smith replied on the broadcast. "They have a smaller ball, don’t they? There’s a women’s tee in golf, and there’s a men’s tee for a reason."
Miller then mentioned a story that had been reported earlier in the broadcast, in which Ionescu had been told to play with dolls when she was younger.
"My thought, I have daughters, so my thought when I first heard that was: 'What's wrong with that? You should play with dolls and you can do sports' " Smith said during the "Stephen A. Smith Show" appearance. "So I actually said it: 'You should play with dolls' and I screamed my daughter's names out. But, see, most people don't check the tape, they want to just check the bait. My history and track record speaks for itself."
Smith's comments drew a rash of online criticism, arguing that he was being condescending toward Ionescu, particularly during an event that was seeking to obliterate expectations and limits of gender.
"Shooters do shoot, though," Smith said during the "Stephen A. Smith Show" appearance. "She can make the adjustment. Steph could've made the adjustment moving in. However, your muscle memory is at one line, that's all it is. You have more of a chance of doing what you do the same way she shot with her ball. If you gave Steph the women's basketball, after about two or three shots, he could adjust to shooting with a women's basketball. However, he shot with his ball. It's just a slight adjustment and it gives you a slight edge — that's all it is."