NBA

Stephen A. Smith goes berserk, tells Kevin Durant that Kyrie Irving ‘betrayed’ him

Stephen A. Smith had one of his impassioned rants, where you think he might pop a blood vessel, on live TV Wednesday.

The Golden State Warriors not only came into Brooklyn and waxed the Nets on Tuesday night, but did so with the Barclays Center crowd behind them and chanting MVP not for Kevin Durant, but for his former teammate Stephen Curry. Smith went apoplectic on the Nets fan base, the arena and Kyrie Irving (who has yet to play this season as he has opted against getting the COVID-19 vaccine and is not compliant with a local mandate).

We should take the highlights bit by bit.

On James Harden:

“That was the most meaningless 24 points I’ve seen in the career of James Harden. You are a superstar and you are not looking like one. It’s that simple. You gotta get it together.”

On Kyrie Irving:

“K.D., you made the wrong decision bro and here’s why: because you trusted Kyrie. Kyrie Irving betrayed you. Flat out betrayed you. Left you hanging. And while you’re sitting up there getting your ass kicked last night … they were cheering for Steph Curry in Brooklyn! From opening tap! They were chanting MVP in the Barclays Center and it wasn’t for the dude averaging 28.9 points per game … You juxtapose Steph Curry compared to Kyrie Irving, and what do you have? Kyrie Irving is a show stopper, a box office talent, and CAN’T BE TRUSTED. I actually hope Kyrie Irving gets cut.”

Kevin Durant during the Nets' loss to the Warriors on Nov. 16, 2021.
Kevin Durant during the Nets’ loss to the Warriors on Nov. 16, 2021. Corey Sipkin

On Nets fans and the Barclays Center:

“K.D. don’t have no help. You’re left there all alone. You don’t have a culture. Brooklyn stand up. I don’t wanna hear that nonsense again! Brooklyn, the borough of Brooklyn, should be ashamed of yourself! The only damn thing good about the Barclays Center are the concession workers and the people handling the traffic in and out of the arena like my boy Tony and Jose and the crew. Those are the only decent things about the Barclays Center. It’s just dead. There’s no fan base to gravitate towards. There’s no momentum. There’s no fervor. There’s no passion. Nothing. I’m showing more passion in this studio by my damn self than 17,000-plus showed at the Barclays Center.”

Later in the segment, Smith said that Irving and Durant were going to go to the Knicks in free agency, but that Irving stepped in and said they should build their own culture in Brooklyn:

This will, in all likelihood, remain a very entertaining topic of conversation on “First Take” for the foreseeable future.