← The Stephen A. Smith Show
The Stephen A. Smith Show
Full Show: NBA Finals Recap | Injury Crisis in the NBA | Criticizes both Democrats and Republicans for political posturing.
01:06:54
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- [00:00]
Stephen A. Smith
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
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- [00:40]
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- [01:53]
Stephen A. Smith
Welcome to the latest edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Coming at you as I love to do at the very least three times a week over the digital airwaves of YouTube and of course iHeartRadio. As always, I'd like to pause for a moment before I get into anything to thank my followers, my subscribers, my listeners for always supporting the show the way that you do. Can appreciate the love and support more. I can't thank y' all enough. Okay, the millions of downloads over the last few months courtesy of iheartradio and of course a YouTube subscriber base that has now eclipsed 1.25 million. Can't thank y' all enough. This show wouldn't be what it is if it were not for you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart on behalf of myself and my team. Keep the love coming and I'm gonna keep on coming. To continue to like and follow the show and get notified for all of our newest content, just click the bell that will notify you of all of our newest content and you too shall be considered the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. And while you're doing that, make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times bestselling book, Straight Shooter, a memoir of second chances and first takes, now in paperback. Just go to straight shoot a book.com to get yourself a copy. Once again, that straight shoot a book.com to get yourself a copy. There's a lot to get into always this is going to be a relatively quick show because I'm traveling back from the NBA Finals. I haven't had any sleep, but I wasn't going to sit up there and deny y' all the opportunity to see another edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. So here we go with it. Just expect me to be a little quick today. All right, we're going to get started with the NBA Finals that concluded last night with Game seven in Oklahoma City with the Thunder crowned as champions for the 202420 season. The game featured a devastating injury to Pacer star Tyrese Halliburton. I'll get to that in a moment, but I first want to give props to the Thunder, who completed the season having the best record and the best player in the entire NBA. Shay Gilous Alexander, or as my colleague Malika Andrews from ESPN so affectionately calls him, Shea Butter, capped his historic season with 29 points and 12 assists in game seven. By the way, 40 minutes, just one turnover. He's just the fourth player in NBA history two to win a regular season MVP and scoring title while becoming an NBA champion. The Thunder victory is also the culmination of longtime general manager Sam Presti. Presti, who has been in charge since the 20072008 season, has led Oklahoma City to the second most regular season victories in that span or in the league during that span. I like to start there first and foremost. I'm going to start off giving some love to Sam Presti because here's the reason why nobody was calling him out more than me. I respect the hell out of him. I think that over the years he's accumulated hall of Fame talent and he's been in charge since 2007. My issue with him is that they didn't close. One of my favorite movies is really the Opening monologue by Alec Baldwin. Always be closing. Always be closing. And that was something that we could never say about the Oklahoma City Thunder. And it got on my last damn nerves because throughout the years I remember when Sam Presti had a team and, and I looked at players, the players that he's had on the squad. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Sergio Baka, Reggie Jackson, Victor Oladipo, Paul George. Still having Russell Westbrook. Okay, Carmelo Anthony. The list just goes on and on and on, but no championship to show for it. Anybody else, somebody would be asking when we gonna get the chip? When are we going to get the championship? Well, finally Oklahoma City answered the call, courtesy of Shea Gilgis, Alexander. And Sam Presti deserves a boatload of credit. They've got about anywhere from 13 to 15 first round picks in the very near future and they got a championship squad. Now that's the second youngest squad in NBA history to have captured such a feat. Only the Portland Trail blazers from the 1976-77 season led by Bill Walton was considered younger, averaging a little over 25 years of age, whereas Oklahoma City averaged 25 and a half years of age. This is who they are. This is what Oklahoma City brings to the table. Shay Gilders is a superstar in this league, all right. Averaging 34 in game sevens. I'm looking at what this brother has done and you guys, you just got to stand down. He's one of the best players in the world and there's no way around it. It's just that simple. Right now if you're telling me a top five in the, in the NBA, you can make a legitimate argument that he's top two easily. Him and Nikola Jokic in the Denver Nuggets. That's what you could do. I give you my top five a little bit later if you want me to, but that's where I'm at with it right now. Gotta give love to J Dub. Jalen Williams showing himself to be that sidekick that any championship squad needs, that Oklahoma City has. With Che Gill, just Alexander needing that sidekick. The only thing missing from J Dub's game is consistency. Everything else, he's legit. Six, six, six, seven. He's got a J, he's got ball handling skills. He could finish at the basket, he could finish in the open court, he could hit throws, he's got a mid range game. Plus he, he defends one of only two players in the entire NBA. Him and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who made an all NBA team and an all NBA defensive team can't deny what Alex Caruso, you know, the elder statesman of this crew, meant to this team this year. Can't deny what Isaiah Hartenstein, who came over from the New York Knicks last year, meant to this team this year. Chad Holmgren is just in his third year there. Look at what he's been able to do this year. You got cats coming off the bench like Wiggins and Wallace, and these Oklahoma City is loaded and they're not going away. And they deserve a boatload of credit for it. They really, really do. My hats off to them. My hat's off to Coach Dagnault, who I thought, listen, had they lost game seven last night, we all know what we would have been talking about. We've been talking about what happened in Game 1, how he changed the starting lineup before tip off for the NBA Finals even arrived. And we would have said, yo, what the hell are you thinking? But turns out they ended up getting it done, and props to them for doing so. It didn't come easy. It came hard because the Indiana Pacers were valiant in defeat. They pushed this series to seven games, and if certain things had gone their way, who knows, we might be sitting here talking about them as NBA champions. But it was not to be. And that's where we go with the second subject. We get to Tyrese Halliburton. The Pacers point guard got off to a hot start, scoring nine points on three or five shooting. But it all came to an end with just under five minutes left in the first first quarter. That's when Halliburton tried to drive left and his right leg gave out and he crashed to the floor in pain. He was carried off the court, and his father, John Halliburton, later revealed what many suspected, an apparent Achilles injury. When it was over, Tyrese Haliburton stood on crutches outside the Pacers locker room, welcoming teammates with an embrace as each one came off the floor. And following Indiana's 10391 loss to the Thunder, I know y' all have seen me on many occasions talking about Tyrese Halliburton and how he's no superstar. But it doesn't mean that he didn't have the impact of a superstar. It doesn't mean that he's not a damn good player. As I reminded his father when he and I were talking following their Game 6 win in Indianapolis the other night, I said I was clamoring for the Knicks to draft your son. And in fairness, his father was a class act, very pleasant to talk to in the whole bit. And to see him crying last night was not a good sight to see because boy, does he love his son and he believes in his son. And it's a damn shame that Tyrese Halliburton had to go out like that because I'm here to tell y' all, if Tyrese Halliburton, the way that he was rolling, we all know when he starts off strong, he usually has a very, very good game. And last night he shot. He had three of his first four shots. All three were three point shots. And when you look at what he brought to the table, I mean, the Pacers look like they were going to have OKC in some trouble because we all know that OKC's weakness is their half court offense. And sometimes it goes a bit stale and they engage in ISO ball by getting the ball to Shay Gilgis Alexander to come and rescue. And we know, listen, that might not have been enough. So I look at it from that standpoint and give love and respect where it's due. The Pacers, nemhard nith, they got a future. Benedict Matheran, I know he had some bad games, but he had some good moments. I believe in that kid. Miles Turner and N. Smith seemed a bit like they the moment was too big for them in a game seven, but they weren't horrible. They got some skills. You could keep this Indiana team intact and they can still make some noise within the Eastern Conference. The problem is, is that you're not playing next season with Halliburton. And don't get me started on TJ McConnell. Obi Toppin had an awful game. No points, four shots clearly rattled at the departure of Tyrese Halliburton, which he openly confessed after the game. But when you look at T.J. mcConnell, ladies and gentlemen, let me put it in perspective. If the Indiana paces had won the game last night, I might have named T.J. mcConnell my MVP. Game five, the way he exploded in the third quarter. Game seven with 12 points in the third quarter. Yeah, both fourth quarters only scored, scored zero points, have one shot, but partially being taken out and having this rhythm disrupted by Rick Carlisle, who is going to rely on others because of size, etc, you might take him out, but TJ McConnell was big time for the Pacers in this NBA Final Series. Big time for them. I got nothing but love for this kid. I've known him since his days in Philly. That little, the little engine that could little Rough Rider, he could be on my team any day. Got nothing but love for T.J. mcConnell and he, he warranted MVP consideration if the Pacers had won. That's the truth. But it wasn't to be because the Oklahoma City Thunder was the best team in basketball all year long. And they showed it. And so it is what it is. They are the champions. Here's the thing to be concerned about next season. Look at this right here, y' all. Tyrese, Halliburton, Achilles, Jason Tatum, Achilles, Damian Lillard, Achilles, Kyrie, Irvin, acl. That's where I mean, these guys are gonna. Those three, those first three. Halliburton, Tatum and Lillard gonna be out probably for the whole season. Kyrie gonna be out for most of the season. We're starting next NBA season 25, 26 season without those four guys. That is not good. And the NBA, a global iconic brand. Don't doubt it for one second. The NBA, you need them players. People love the NBA the world over, but we need those players. It's a damn shame. And I'm just telling you right now, when you look at them, gotta tell you, it's painful to watch those injuries. I mean, Kyrie is a spectacular talent. This is a superstar player and a champion. We want to see him. Damian Lillard, we know what a closer he is. We want to see him. Jason Tatum is a champion at the 27 point per game scorer who's made all NBA team the last four years. We want to see him. And all three of them are out. Them and Halliburton are out for most, if not all of next season. Which brings into question what Lakers coach, former ESPN and ABC analyst JJ Redick said when he was comparing old school to today's game and how pace of play wears and tears on the body just as much, if not more than the physicality from the 70s, the 80s, the 90s. And right now it's looking like he's having a point because look at the injuries that we're witnessing. Look at that. Damn, it was sad when I saw Halliburton go down. Broke my heart because I wanted to see a healthy Halliburton on the court making noise. And I originally, he was playing so well. He played so well in game six. I said to myself, I don't want to hear anything about injuries. I ain't seen somebody with a calf injury move like that. And then sure enough, he goes down in Game 7. And the injury was very, very eerily reminiscent of how Kevin Durant went down against Toronto in that Game 5, where Cav just rolled up the way that it did in the Achilles Tour. Painful no doubt wishing nothing but the best of Tyrese Halliburton. Props to him. Congrats to him for the season and particularly the playoffs that he had. Wishing him a speedy recovery. God bless him, his dad and his family hope they get I hope he gets healthy much, much sooner than later because he's a bright spot for this league. I ain't calling him a superstar, but he can have superstar impact from time to time. He's a damn good player and I wish him nothing but the best. I got more to touch on, particularly with Kevin Durant getting traded to the Houston Rockets, but not before I pay these all right folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up. You know I love this time of year, right? The WNBA season is in full effect and with all this action jumping off, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you take advantage of it all. That's why we've partnered with Prize Picks the best place to win cash While watching Sports the app is really easy to use. You know, just pick more or less on a few player stats and you could win up to 2000 times your cash on a single lineup. Best of all, prizepix will give you 50 doll in lineups when you play your first five dollar lineup. Win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks in lineups. Just use promo code SAS and download prize Picks now. Again, download the app and use code SAS to get $50 in lineups instantly after your first five dollar lineup prize picks hey, hey. Run your game. The Indiana Fever will take on a Seattle Storm tomorrow night in Seattle. So I'll give you my picks for the game. First up, will Caitlin Clark score more or less than 0.5 points? Next question please. 0.5 points? That's like saying she ain't gonna make a free throw, she ain't gonna make a basket. She ain't gonna make a three point stop. Just stop it. Don't even ask me that damn question. Of course the answer to that is more. Next up, will Aaliyah Boston score more or less than 14 points? I'm gonna go with more on this. I think that she's gonna have a big game. Why not go with Aaliyah Boston? I like her. Next up, will Skylar Diggins score more? Less than 17 and a half points? I think that might be a bit much in this particular game. I can see us going 15, 16. She probably ain't gonna get more than 17 and a half. I'm gonna go with less on this one. Gabby Williams score more or less than 13 and a half points. I'm going with more in this one too. Why? I have no damn idea. I'm just going with more. So let's recheck. Okay, let's get back to it. More for Caitlin Clark, more for Aaliyah Boston, less for Skylar Diggins and more for Gabby Williams. Okay. You like it? I like it. Most of the picks were more because we think about more when we think about prospects.
- [17:00]
Donald Trump
Right?
- [17:00]
Stephen A. Smith
Listen, let's move on and go to Prize Picks app and check out the Caitlin Clark free pick.
- [17:06]
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- [18:08]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being hella Black, Hella Queer and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Rees. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black Hella Queer hello Christian. To hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [18:40]
Stephen A. Smith
I think what I've had to make peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by.
- [18:44]
Joseph Reeves
God and I love it. Books that validated our identity. The library now for me is is a safe space.
- [18:51]
Stephen A. Smith
As someone who is writing books that.
- [18:52]
Joseph Reeves
They'Re trying to take off of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black Hella queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [19:12]
Stephen A. Smith
Welcome back. Now let's get to the trade news. Early in the day that may shake up the Western Conference. The Phoenix Suns agreed on a deal to send Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Jalen Green. Dylan brooks, the number 10 pick in this year's draft along with five second round picks. The 15 time NBA All Star now elevates the Rockets positioning for championship contention within the Western Conference. Durant joins a lineup that includes Alperin, Shagun, Amin Thompson and veteran guard Fred Van vliet. Houston won 52 games under coach Ime Udoka this past season. Season. The trade can be formally completed when the new league year begins July 6th. You see those odds right there. OKC is still a plus two 20. Still about four. Nearly four times better than the Houston Rockets. But that doesn't mean that the Houston Rockets aren't a title contender. As you see, they're in the top four in terms of Vegas odds right there. ESPN Bet odds. Because they should be. When you look at the Phoenix Suns. First things first for those looking at them and saying five second round picks, the 10th overall pick, Dylan Brooks, Jalen Green, you know, couldn't they have gotten more. Well, Kevin Durant is like 36, turns 37 at the end of September if I remember correctly. And he's in a position to sign a two year deal which means he'd be playing and making over 60 plus million dollars, you know, approaching his 39th birthday. My attitude is so what? He's Kevin Durant. He's that dude you couldn't get. But so much for him because of his age and the fact that he gave you those choices that he wanted to go to. You want to go to Miami, San Antonio or Houston. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell of Miami Heat then prioritize getting him. Now I know you don't want to give up Tyler Hero because you want Kevin Durant to play with somebody. So you want him to play with a Tyler Hero and a bam out of Bio. I get that. But as long as you those two, I don't give a damn what you got to give up to get Kevin Durant. You do it if you're the Miami Heat because you've got to be able to get something. You got to be able to get something. You can't be in south beach squeezing and playing for the playing and then you going home the second game of a playing or the first round of the playoffs is Pat Riley, it's Mickey Harrison, it's Eric Spoer, it's the Miami Heat. We just, we expect better. And you got to go out there and get those stars. And the fact that you can't or you haven't been able to close deals in it, it's just a reminder of what I've said to all of y' all when it comes to Pat Riley. I love him, I revere him. He is the winner within. He's a champion as a play, he's a champion as a coach, he's a champion as an executive. I get it, he's Pat Riley. But that doesn't mean you don't need to step upstairs sometimes. I didn't say step down, I said step up. Meaning having a merit of status, mingling with the owner, vibing, talking, cajoling, et cetera, and talking to the coach or the president of basketball operations, but leaving the actual responsibility to somebody else. I think it's time to give that to Eric Spoelstra. I really, really do. But back to the KD deal. Phoenix, one could argue they could have gotten better. I'm not so sure of that. So they had to take the trade, that they could get five second round picks, a first round of number 10 overall, and Dylan Brooks, who's a starter, and Jalen Green, who's a starter and 22 years of age and very athletic and very capable. He just needs his skills honed in a bit better. No doubt, no doubt. And if you're the Phoenix Suns, this has to make you happy because Jalen Green can play, Dylan Brooks can play. The 10th overall pick is going to be a good player. You can matriculate, you, you can materialize something out of those second round picks into something worthwhile. Okay. And in a way. And now you got to prioritize getting rid of Bradley Beal. Him and LeBron James are the only two people in the entire league that have a no trade clause. And Phoenix wants him going in the worst way, to the point where I'm being told that if they can't get rid of him, they might sit his ass down or pay him to stay home. But they don't want Bradley Beal on the Phoenix Suns any longer. And if you Bradley Beal, you got to think about how good that looks for you or how bad that looks for you. They paying you over 50 million, they don't want you and they can't give you away for a box of cookies. What the hell is going on what are you doing that they got them questioning that about you? That's how. This is not Stephen A talking. I'm just saying to you, this is what they're saying in Phoenix about Bradley Beal. There's no way around this. So if you know that's your circumstances and it's your situation, you're not in much of a position to play hardball with anybody. About Kevin Durant. Now to Houston and Kevin Durant with Shagun and Van Vliet and Amin Thompson, who I think is an absolute stud. This brother's gonna be. He's got star written all over him. Jabari Smith. I think the Houston Rockets are in position to compete for the championship. I really, really do. When, ladies and gentlemen, their issues was perimeter shooting, half court set, three point shooting, et cetera. These are problems Kevin Durant single handedly resolves. He's kd. He's kd. I know he's gotten on me. He's criticized me, man, please. I got nothing but love for that brother. Kevin Durant's a good brother. Heart's in the right place. He just gets sensitive sometimes, that's all. But this brother's all world player, don't wish harm or nobody, and will bust your living ass anytime he on a basketball court and the ball is in, he can do what he want. Offensively, nobody can stop him. He's unguardable. Ladies and gentlemen, let me throw you these stats up here because I want you to see what Kevin Durant did in the earlier part of his career and what he's doing now throughout his career. 27 points, 50 shooting, 39 from 3 point range, 88 shooting from the free throw line. 7 rebounds, 4, 4, 6. Look at his numbers. Last season at age 36, 26, shooting better from the field, shooting better from 3 point range. Might have done a little less for the fetal line, but this is Kevin Durant. Remember the years ago when Patrick Beverley was gnawing at him and stuff like that and people were getting on him for not being aggressive. And he says, I could do this and I could do that, but I don't want to because that's not playing within the floor of the game. But I'm Kevin Durant. You know who I am. You know who I am? Yes. The hell we do. He's Kevin Durant. In H town has got him. It's one of the places he wanted to go. He earned the right to pick his destiny. He's pulled it off and now Kevin Durant is going to Houston. To me, that solidifies them as one of the top two seeds in a Western Conference and one of the top three seeds in the entire NBA. I applaud the fact that ant man Anthony Edwards in Minnesota. Well, upon hearing that Kevin Durant didn't want to go there, refused to give him a call to try to coax him into coming. I applaud that because guess what? If the brother don't want to be there, it ain't going to be nothing but problems if he ends up coming there. So you got to make sure he wants to be there. And if he didn't want to be in Minnesota, he didn't want to be in Minnesota. He want to be in h town.
- [26:46]
Joseph Reeves
Cool.
- [26:46]
Stephen A. Smith
It's Kevin Durant. You know who he is, you know who he is. But despite what we've known, we haven't seen him coached by an IME Udoka. He's got roots with him back in Brooklyn. They know each other. IME Udoka wanted this to happen. No matter what reservations everybody else had. IME Udoka wanted this to happen and that is why it happened. Kevin Durant knows this. I anticipate he'll respond in kind to be the electrifying basketball superstar we all know him to be. And for Houston to threaten to take the West, OKC ain't got nothing to worry about right now. They the champions. But that don't mean they ain't got something to look out for come October. You feel me? You feel me? Coming up, President Trump drops bombs on Iran, causing significant damage to three nuclear sites. What does it all mean for the United States and Iran's war with Israel? I'll get into all of that next right here on the Stephen A. Smith Show. You know I love my politics, right? Don't go away. I got more to say. Be back with more in a minute. All right, everybody, listen up. With all the big time sports action that's happening each and every day, the Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of it all. That's why we partnered with Prize Picks. The best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use. You know, to create a lineup, all you have to do is pick more or less on a few player stats. Choose from any of your favorite players all in the same entry. Then sit back and watch. The list is endless. You can play prize picks in over 40 states, including California and Texas. Best of all, Prize picks will give you $50 in lineups. When you play your first $5 lineup, win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks in lineups. Just use promo code Sas and download prize picks now. Again, download the app and use Code SAS to get $50 in lineups instantly after your first five dollar lineup prize picks. Hey hey run your game this July.
- [28:56]
Annabe Advertiser
4Th celebrate freedom from spills, stains and overpriced furniture with Annabe, the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly pricing. Sofas started just $699, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Annabe's pet friendly, stain resistant and interchangeable slipcovers are made with high performance fabric that's built for real life. You'll love the cloud like comfort of hypoallergenic high resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your Life. Now through July 4th get up to 60% off site wide@washablesofas.com Every order comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees. Every penny back. Declare independence from dirty outdated furniture. Shop now@washablesofas.com Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.
- [29:56]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God, and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast that explores society, culture and the intersections of faith and identity. Listen to Hella Black hello Queer, hello Christian to hear conversations about what it means to sound the way you look.
- [30:27]
Stephen A. Smith
I think what I've had to make peace with is that every iteration of my voice is given to me by.
- [30:32]
Joseph Reeves
God and I love it. Books that validated our identity. The library now for me is a safe space as someone who is writing books that they're trying to take off of shelves and how we as black queer folks relate to our Christianity. Listen to Hella Black Hella Queer Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [30:59]
Donald Trump
A short time ago, the US Military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime. Fordeau, Natanz and Esfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle east, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. For 40 years, Iran has been saying, death to America, death to Israel. They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs. That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people. And hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle east and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate. In particular, so many were killed by their general, Qassem Soleimani. I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue. I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before. And we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades. Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that's so. I also want to congratulate the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Raisinkain. Spectacular General. And all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack. With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight. Not even close. There has never been a military that could do what we took place just a little while ago. Tomorrow, General Kaine, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will have a press conference at 8am at the Pentagon. And I want to just thank everybody and in particular, God. I want to just say, we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East, God bless Israel and God bless America, thank you very much. Thank you.
- [34:35]
Stephen A. Smith
Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. That was President Donald Trump late Saturday night announcing the United states had struck three nuclear sites in Iran. The president sent B2 bombers and dropped a number of massive ordinance penetrator bombs, also known as bunker busters, during the mission over Iran. Earlier today, the United nations nuclear watchdog said the bombing raid likely caused, quote, very significant damage, end quote, to the underground parts of Iran's Far do nuclear site. Meanwhile, Iranian military officials and members of Parliament vowed that the United States will pay a price for the strikes. And today they fired missiles toward U.S. bases in Iraq and Qatar. All this while President Trump alluded to the possibility of regime change in Iran in a social media post Sunday. There has been no word yet from Iran's supreme leader, but the exile, quote, crown prince, end quote, of Iran has called for the Ayatollah Khomeini to step down and face justice. This is ugly situation, no doubt about it. And those of us who are reticent about war involving the United States, I can't blame them. But it doesn't stop there. And we're not about to stop there on this show. I will preface my comments by saying that I'm the novice of the crew compared to aficionados out there who cover politics for a living. But Boo boo the fool can see certain things. That's pretty damn obvious. Number one, we have a situation where Iran has been a threat to our ally in the Middle East, Israel, for many, many years. We understand that they have called for death to Israel, just like they've called for death to the United States of America. When you consider that and you consider how determined they appear to be to wipe Israel off the face of this earth, we shouldn't be surprised that we're here today. I don't like war. I don't like war evolving, America. I get that part. But I do believe that if Iran had a nuclear weapon that they would use it. And I do agree that you can allow an enemy of the United States to have a nuclear weapon. It's that simple to me. Having said that, I want to preface the comment by saying I stand by everything that I say. If it's absolutely true, and let's not sit here and act like there aren't questions as to whether or not that is true. You got to remember that since 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, has repeatedly stated that Iran is close to developing a nuclear weapon. He said it in 1996. He said it in 2000 he said it in 2005. He said it in 2011. He said it in 2014. He said it in 2015. He said it in 2018. He said it in 2020. He said it in 2024. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been almost 30 years since Netanyahu has been saying this. So forgive folks in the world if this, if there's some skeptics out there, because we all know that he doesn't play. He wants to eradicate Iran at all cost, at least their ability to have a nuclear weapon. He wants to completely disarm them because he considers them a threat to the existence of Israel. Now, here's where I get frustrated, because once again, here's the novice that's a centrist that comes into play, and he's listening to all of this stuff. And here's where I get infuriated. The Democrats are calling. At least some of them are calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump. Same old song and dance. I thought we heard this before. I thought that was over and done with. The minute you lost the election, with the popular voting, the Electoral College vote, and losing every sweepstate, I thought we were over that, but evidently not. Question number one. No matter what you feel about the President of the United States, do you think that's the time, while we're in the middle of such strife, to be calling for the impeachment of the President of the United States, particularly if you're a representative, you're an elected official in the United States of America? I don't think so. That's number one. Number two, were the Democrats saying that when Obama bombed Libya when he was in office? We're making all of this noise about how the War Powers act is utilized and how Donald Trump didn't receive congressional approval. Well, this is not an act of war. This is eradicating a threat. Civilians weren't targeted. Nuclear sites were targeted. So if nuclear sites were targeted but no civilians were targeted, then that's not a war, at least not yet. Which means that you can navigate your way around the War Powers act itself and you don't have to concern yourself with receiving congressional approval. The Democrats know that because of Obama. So if you knew that because of Obama, and you didn't say it when it involved him in Libya, why would you turn around and all of a sudden try to make that case against Donald Trump? I'm not here condoning what Trump did because I don't know if he's completely telling the truth. I'd like to believe he is. I'd like to believe that he did it totally because Iran is that kind of existential threat and we see him here. What does the President say? The sites that we hit in Iran were totally destroyed and everyone knows it. Only the fake news will say anything different in order to try and demean as much as possible. And even they say they were pretty well destroyed. Working especially hard on this falsehood is Allison Cooper of fake news CNN. Allison, you mean Anderson? It's very disrespectful, Mr. President. It's very disrespectful. We live in a country where we embrace the LGBTQ+ community. You don't have to mock Anderson Cooper that way. His name is Anderson Cooper. Could you show some respect, please? That's all. Be a grown up. That shouldn't be too much to ask. Dumb. Brian L. Roberts Chairman of Comcast so now it's not Comcast, it's Comcast. Johnny Call of ABC Fake News. Really? If you're attacking the individual, why attack the whole network? Everybody for ABC or NBC, CBS or anybody else ain't fake. Could you please grow up? See, this is the kind of stuff that I've spoken against when it comes to this President. But I digress. It says here and always the losers of again, Comcast, NBC, fake news. It never ends with the sleaze bags in the media. And that's why their ratings are at an all time low, zero credibility. Well, listen, I'm not going to get into that. What I'm going to Say to you, Mr. President, is that are we sure you're doing the right thing? Because it's not just the left that's against you, it's also the mega right. Steve Bannon says you've got to talk to the maga, right, because why did you have to get involved? Candace Owens was on this show last week saying the same thing. Both big time supporters of yours. Tucker Carlson is another person and they all look at that and a whole bunch of people. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is I think crazy, but nevertheless is a staunch supporter of yours. Even she said we shouldn't be involved in all of this. Now obviously that's different from cats on the right like Mark Levin, conservative host Lindsey Graham and others. I get that. Senator Lindsey Graham, another. I get it. But the point is it ain't just the left that's going up against President Donald Trump on this. It's also the maga. Right? So who's right? Even former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz had something to say. And by the way, what he had to say was very, very interesting. Put this up for the people to see, please. Let me read this to y' all right now. North Korea's nuclear weapon is a far greater threat to the United States than Iran. It's not even close. Iran has neither the bomb, the delivery system, nor the re entry vehicle you'd need for any intercontinental ballistic missile to launch and re enter orbit. North Korea has all three. North Korea could launch a nuclear weapon at the mainland United States today. We probably have the ability to knock it out of the sky, but Iran can't even get their bird in the air. US Cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Seattle are on maps, and North Korea openly discusses them. Of course, we aren't looking to drop 100 bunka busters in the mountains of North Korea. President Trump took other brilliant diplomatic steps to constrain North Korea's hostilities, and the same could be done with Iran. That is from former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who Trump was very, very fond of until the other Republicans said, hell no, we don't want him serving in your Cabinet. And he was booted up out of there. And now he's here doing the podcast these days. Doesn't make him false, doesn't make him wrong, doesn't make him ill informed. Considering, like he says on Foreign Relations Committee and all of this stuff, the man kind of knows what he's talking about as it pertains to this, because everybody knows that North Korea does have does have a weapon. North Korea could do considerably more damage than Iran could do at this point or at any point in recent memory. Now, to be fair, North Korea is relatively isolated. So when you compare that to where Iran is located and the damage it could potentially do, I understand. Number two, there's nothing wrong with eradicating a potential threat from developing and leaving it at that. As long as we're not getting a bit more extensive. But still, in all, that doesn't mean problems can't come from this. Remember, Iran said they're friends with Russia and they're going to have conversations with Russia, and who knows what that's going to materialize into. Who knows what? Putin, who's ticked off that the United States was helping arm Ukraine against him, is feeling right now what he's plotting to do. Remember I told y' all before, this man wants to reclaim Europe, most of Europe. Remember after World War II, what the goal was from Stalin and those boys? They wanted Europe. They backstabbed the United States. They went against the agreement of developing democracies and stayed with communism. They want Europe, what do you think Putin's after? So you can't trust anything he say in a lot of people's eyes. But nevertheless, let's see what Trump had to say about this. Did I hear former President Medvedev from Russia casually throwing around the N word as in nuclear? Really? That's what. That's what we classify as the N word now. Nuclear instead of the other word. Really? Donald Trump. Okay. And saying that he and other countries would supply nuclear warheads to Iran. Did he really say that, or is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and if confirmed, please let me know. But immediately, the N word should not be treated so casually. I guess that's why Putin's the boss. By the way, if anyone thinks our hardware was great over the weekend, far and away the strongest and best equipment we have, 20 years advanced over the pack, is our nuclear submarines. They are the most powerful and lethal weapons ever built. And just launched the 30 tomahawks, all 30 hit their mark perfectly. So, in addition to our great fighter pilots, thank you to the captain and crew. So, basically, in this particular post on Truth Social, essentially what Trump is saying, that, you know, don't throw out around the word nuclear, casually labeling that the new N word. But he also took an opportunity to praise Putin as the boss. Meanwhile, Iran is talking about working with Russia. No doubt Russia would give advice to their friend Iran on how to combat anything that the United States is throwing in their direction. And Iran, who obviously had Hamas and Hezbollah's proxies and the Houthis to some degree, until the United States dealt with them in Yemen. We got to look at all of this and understand this problem is not going away and then taking it back to the streets of America. You've got people around here from the Jewish community walking around petrified of the proliferation of anti Semitism that they feel is swelling throughout the streets of America. In part, it could be because of what's been happening in Gaza since October 7th a couple of years ago. But the other thing is that there are far too many American citizens asking themselves, are we going to get into yet another fight? And if so, why? Essentially implying, let Israel handle their own business. Trump essentially is saying, no, we got their back. Some have been speculating that he. He jumped in as after Israel did marvelous work in attacking some of Iran's facilities over the last week to 10 days or so, that Trump jumped right in because he saw how effective Israel is, that he wanted to move in, do some damage so he could take all the credit in the world for it. Who knows? Who cares? All we care about at this particular point is safety. Not just in the streets of America, but throughout this world. We don't want World War Three, and we need to know that the people in power don't want it just as much as the rest of us don't want it. And right now, we don't know. We don't know what the hell is going on. But I'll tell you this. As much as I'm pointing the finger at Trump, as much as I'm pointing the finger at what's going on right now in terms of its discomfort and whether or not we're making the right decisions, I don't know. Even though I do consider Iran a threat that needed to be dealt with, I will say this. The Democrats, first of all, all the representatives in Congress. Where the hell have you been? You didn't say much until Trump dropped the bombs on the nuclear sites. You were quiet as a mouse. You were quiet as hell. We heard nothing. Where were you? That's number one. Number two, I don't want to hear stuff about impeachment because the president abused his power and violated Article 2 of the Constitution. I want to hear all of that. Obama attacked Libya without congressional approval. No one said anything, including you, Chuck Schumer. Nobody said anything. And number three, if indeed we do our research and our homework and we find out that President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were correct in their assessment of the threat that Iran posed, thereby fully justifying the actions that took place over this weekend, if you're a Democrat, do you need to be quiet about that? I would say no. You need to come out and you need to say they did the right thing. When we talk about building faith in our government, if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it ain't a freaking mongoose. It's a damn duck. Say so. Say so, because by saying so, even if it's favorable to the other side, in the moment, at least, you're proven you're trustworthy enough to call balls and strikes, figuratively speaking, you're trusted enough. You can be trusted enough to just tell the freaking truth. Assess the situation. Use your powers on Capitol Hill to find out how legitimate and potent the threat was. And if President Trump was right, and if Netanyahu was right, say so. If you do that on the left, it'll show you're reasonable. After all, that might help you in 2026 for the midterms, and, dare I say, 2028 for the presidency. Just saying. Just saying. Coming up, I'll get into your tweets. Plus a curious story about an elderly woman and a male escort. Do I have your attention? I think I do. Back with more to Stephen A. Smith Show. Closing out the show in a minute. Welcome back to the Stephen A. Smith Show. Before I get to your tweets, I had to react to this story. Family members are suing after an 84 year old British Columbian woman left her 1 million estate to a male escort. Janet Colville Sutherland Henry of North Vancouver changed her will shortly before she died, leaving her estate to escort Simon Garston. Henry's husband died in 2004 and following that she paid various male escorts for companionship and sexual Services. In February 2021, a year before she died, Henry met Garstin, who was in his late 20s and worked as a professional companion and male escort. The two met via Skype and the significant fees for his services were discussed and agreed to. They met in person for the first time in April of 2021 when Mr. Garstin came to the deceased home for an overnight visit, then met several times for overnight stays in the following weeks. Their last face to face meeting was for three nights. A few months before she died, Henry changed her will, leaving her approximately $1 million estate to Garston. The family did not know about the change until after her passing. This is not going to be the most popular opinion, I'll confess, but are you challenging her mental acuity? Are you challenging her cogency? She seems to be an elderly woman who was, who was in control of her faculties and was completely aware of what she was doing. How do we know this? Because she had several male escorts and then she met him and she want nobody else. Ladies and gentlemen, in English, that's a brother that was handling his business. Is that appropriate to say? Oh no, I don't know. But it's true. Whatever proclivity she had that she couldn't fulfill herself and needed to be fulfilled by somebody else, he handled. And it might be sad, hell, it might be pathetic. But if it's her money, it's perfectly within her right to leave it to whoever she chooses. And if she chooses to leave it to a man who happens to be a male escort, that she clearly feels fulfilled her to her lasting days. You know what I'm saying? How can you not that? Evidently he did more for her than she felt her own family did for her, which is why she left the one million dollar estate to him. Now I'm not saying it's. You would like to think life, there's more things to life than getting your freak on. But evidently to her, it really, really was. Mattered most. Was what mattered most. And she seems very, very appreciative of his efforts. And if that's the case, I'm not saying he's supposed to like it. I'm not saying it's not a little bit trifling, but you gotta live with it. Me, myself, you know how you in your 20s getting excited about that. But, you know, everybody has things that stimulate them in certain ways. One of my uncles was like that. You know me, I like a voluptuous figure. My boy Pulley, he wants you the size of Rasputia from Norbit. All right? One of my other boys, he wants you number skin and bones. But my uncle, his aphrodisiac, what turned him on most was money. If you could make this brother money, he didn't give a damn whether you were white, black, Asian, Hispanic, fat, skinny, mid range cellulite firm skinny. It didn't mean a damn thing to him. Green was what turned him. It really, really turned them on. That was him money. I'm not talking about myself, I swear, I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about him. But it's the truth. Everybody got that thing, clearly. Until her dying breath at age 84. That was her thing. Now, let's get to your tweets before we get on out of here, please. Eelx Habib writes Stephen A. Smith. Five LeBron's versus five Jordans. Who wins more championships? That's a stupid ass question. I refuse to answer. You know what my answer is? Because you know what? My God, this next tweet, please give it to me at Yogi Canoli. Right? Stephen A. Smith, if you could do one job that you have zero affiliation to, what would you do for a living? I'd be a criminal lawyer. That's what I would do. I love the courtroom. I love the courtroom. So my bucket list, when you saw me on Law and Order, it's on my bucket list to be a lawyer in the courtroom. You understand? I, I love it. I, I mean, I prefer to be a prosecutor rather than a defense attorney, but the courtroom for me is everything. Is everything. I would love it. That's what I would tell you it is. Next tweet, please give it to me at 003/PUG9095 fire. Right, Stephen A. Smith, do you believe in aliens? You know what? I don't want to Be specific. I'll tell you what I believe in. I believe that there are other beings in this universe than just the human race. Call them Martians calling folks from Venus or other planets throughout the galaxy. I don't know. I just don't believe that human beings on planet Earth is the only species in the universe. So if that means aliens, fine, sure. I believe other planets, they have their beings, just like on this planet, you have human beings. That's what I believe. One more tweet. Let's get to check it out at Jimmy from the Q, right? Stephen A. Smith, if you were to get in the WWE wrestling ring, what song would be your theme as you entered the arena? Where the hood, where the hood, where the hood at? I think it would be something like that. I think it would be something like that. I will say to you that my all time favorite entry is between Goldberg coming into the ring. I love that music. I love the Rock, his entry, even though it wouldn't be for me. I did kind of like Hulk Hogan's entry. I am a real American. I like that stuff, you know, And I like John Cena. I love that. I do, I must admit that. But I would tell you, Goldberg and. And the Rock stand out. I love their entries. And if it were me, it would be where the Hood at by dmx, God rest his soul. Or it would be Jay Z with Kanye. No church in a while. But I don't think that's suitable for wwe. It would be, oh, my goodness. I gotta think about something. I gotta look into my phone. If I remember something, let me look this real quick to see what comes to my mind. Because I listen to my music every morning and I gotta think about that just a little bit. I would say to you, ante up, Andy Up. But with Busta Rhymes, the remix version, you understand? It would be with Busta Rhymes. I like that too. Gotta think about this a little bit more. And Justin 7 Music, the best three. It's like they play that with the 247 boxing shows they did with Floyd Money Mayweather. I like that music theme, you know, I like that too. Those are just some of the names, you know, But Ante up or where the Hood at stands out above the crowd. That's it for this edition of the Stephen A. Smith Show. Hope you all enjoyed it. I'll be back in a couple of days. Until then, I'll see you later. I got to get on out of here and get some rest. All right. I'm traveling back from the NBA finals. I need some damn sleep. But I was here for y' all, giving y' all some content about things that was on my mind. Hope y' all appreciate that as much as I appreciate y' all. Thanks again so much. I'll talk to y' all in a couple of days. Until then, peace and Love everybody.
- [72:34]
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- [73:34]
Joseph Reeves
Show me how good it can get today, God and show the rest of the world what we already know it can't get. No better than being Hella Black, Hella Queer and Hella Christian. My name is Joseph Reeves. I am the creator and host of Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, a fully black, fully queer, fully human, fully divine podcast. From iHeartMedia to Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.
- [74:04]
Stephen A. Smith
This is an iHeart podcast.