Transcript
Greg Rosenthal (0:00)
What's up everyone? It's Greg Rosenthal and I'm teaming up with the King of spring, Daniel Jeremiah. He requires me to say that we're going to be bringing you 40s and free agents, the only podcast you'll need this NFL draft season. From DJs mock drafts to my top 101, free agents will have it covered for you with all new episodes every Thursday keeping you up to date as we head to the NFL Draft. Listen to 40s and free agents starting on March 6th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Julie Swerbinks (0:30)
What's up everyone? Julie Swerbinks here along with former NHL player Nate Thompson.
Nate Thompson (0:35)
We're doing a new podcast together. Here we go.
Julie Swerbinks (0:38)
The name Energy Line with Nate and jsb.
Nate Thompson (0:41)
Each week we'll get together and talk about hockey life. All topics are fair game, right?
Julie Swerbinks (0:46)
Exactly. And you'll never know who will drop by to join us.
Nate Thompson (0:50)
Julia's pretty well connected. She has text threads going that you wouldn't believe.
Julie Swerbinks (0:55)
Listen to Energy Line with Nate and jsb on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Stephen A. Smith (1:02)
Wondering how much of a punishment P. Diddy deserves? Wondering what he's done in the past to warrant a level of vitriol that a lot of people might not forgive him for? I don't know if any of us are qualified to answer that question, but I got somebody who is. He'll be on the show in a minute. The honorable Shine himself, former rap artist turned politician. Think about that for a second. Stephen A. Smith show in the house. He'll be here. The four time warriors champion.
Nate Thompson (1:52)
He's back.
Stephen A. Smith (1:56)
Latest 12th season out of Washington State University.
Nate Thompson (2:00)
Number 31, Queen Johnson.
Stephen A. Smith (2:09)
That was beautiful. Welcome to this edition of the Stephen A. Smith show, coming at you over the Digital Airways of YouTube and of course, iHeartRadio. As always, I take a moment to pause to thank my subscribers, my followers, because we've now eclipsed over 917,000 on YouTube of clips. Over 3 million downloads over the last couple of months or so. Can't thank y'all for the love and support. Enough. Keep it coming and I'm going to keep on coming. Also, if you want to continue to like and follow Stephen A. Smith show, just click the bell to get access to all of our new content. And you too shall consider yourself the latest member of the Stephen A. Smith show family. While you're doing that, make sure to pick up a copy of my New York Times best selling book, Straight Shooter A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, now in paperback. Just go to straightshooterbook.com and get yourself a copy. Once again, that straight shooter. Book.com to get yourself a copy. Let's get started with two quick headlines in the NBA. You saw the highlights right there. You saw Klay Thompson. Okay, Joel Embiid is another one I'll get into, don't you worry. Just stay right there. We got to start in the Bay Area, however, because Klay Thompson returned to the Chase center as a Dallas Maverick after 13 years and four championships with the Golden State Warriors. Thompson was welcomed with open arms and captain hats throughout the arena as the team played a tribute video to honor his time in Golden State. Clay requested a pre game speech by former teammate Steph Curry be canceled because he didn't want to get emotional prior to the game. In the end, the warriors beat the Mavericks 120 to 117 behind Steph Curry's 37 points and a late three to seal the victory. Thompson scored 22 on 612 shooting from deep in the loss. Let me say this, I think that Klay Thompson is going to regret not letting Steph Curry give that pre game speech. See, ladies and gentlemen, life is about moments. It's about moments. And when you consider what Klay Thompson has meant to that organization, that franchise, that area, the Bay Area, I, for one, the Chase center is immaculate. It's fantastic. I like it. But nothing beats the Oracle. The Oracle was something special to behold. I'm just trying to tell y'all right now, when them brothers got on a roll and they started raining threes from all over the place, that crowd in that arena, that dilapidated arena shaking the shit, I mean, it was something special to behold. The Bay Area is the Bay Area. It's real, it's authentic, it's special. And Clay Thompson is a prodigal son of that area. I mean, this man is something special to them. And I think, yeah, it was his choice. And as a four time champion who meant so much to the organization, they had to end up departing because they didn't believe in him anymore. To this degree that the Dallas Mavericks clearly are believing in him. I guess he wanted to do that. But moments are not things you get back, ladies and gentlemen, you got to capitalize on certain moments. And I think Klay Thompson should have let Ste. Steph Curry give that pregame speech because I think it would have been very hard to hear Steph Curry speaking considering the roar that would have emanated and descended down upon Klay Thompson from that crowd. That's how much love they have for him. Nevertheless, he showed up, hit six of his 12 three pointers, okay? Hit about 22 points, showed up respect respectively. But he wasn't Steph Curry. That Steph Curry that showed up in that last three minutes looked like Steph Curry in the semifinals and the finals or the semifinals in the gold medal game for the Olympics in Paris. That's what I saw from Steph Curry yesterday. The brother spectacular. The greatest shooter God has ever created and a four time champion his own right. A two time league mvp. No matter how great Klay Thompson was, he was never Steph Curry. And Steph Curry put on that show, finished with 37 and did his thing. Golden State's got a chance this year, y'all. They got a chance. If Steve Kerr continues to really highlight their debt, their depth and use that bench, I, I think they got a chance. I think they got a chance and it's going to be interesting. And I'll ask y'all this from a polling perspective. Just, just tweet the Stephen A. Smith show or tweet at me, Stephen A. Smith on X or whatever. Who you think got a better chance or going to the finals, Golden State or Dallas? I'm not so sure I can summarily dismiss Golden State. I really, really can't. The Sixers, however, in the Eastern Conference might be another matter entirely because we got to get to that. Where Joel Embiid made his season debut with the Sixers after missing the first nine games of the season due to his left knee injury. Suspended for three games. Okay, we know he missed games and injuries, but he's suspended for three games after shoving Marcus Hayes. We know about that. Okay. Anyway, the Sixers took on the Knicks, my Knicks, and embiid scored just 13 points on 2411 shooting from the field. He left the game not long after it began, but did return. The Sixers lost to the Knicks, won 11 and 99, bringing their overall record to 2 and 8 on the season. As for Embiid, he said it would take time for him to regain confidence and pushing off on that injured left knee. I have to come to the defense of Joel Embiid in this regard. I already spoke on it last week and how the reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Marcus Hayes, should not have brought up his late brother or his son in talking about him and being critical of him. And I stand by that. Although in the same breath I stand by Marcus Hayes's right to write everything and to say everything. Else he has said about Joel Embiid as a columnist, it's. As a columnist, it's his job to open, to editorialize and give his opinion based on the facts that are presented to us. And if that's the opinion that he concluded, there's absolutely, positively nothing wrong with him doing that. And I'm not gonna hold that personally against Marcus Hayes. I just don't think he should have used his son, his late or his late brother. I think that was low. I think that was wrong. Getting back to Joel Embiid, though, specifically. All right. By the way, they're both sitting out tonight's game. That would be Joel Embiid and Paul George. Left knee injury management. Ladies and gentlemen, let me be very clear. Joel Embiid has always been injured. He's always been hurt. That's why it's very, very difficult for me to judge him. But so much. The brother was drafted in 2014 and missed the first two years. Who the hell does that? Two years. Two years because of his feet. He's had foot injuries. He's had knee injuries, he's had back injuries. He's had shoulders, had hand injuries. The man had a facial fracture. I mean, damn, he's been so fragile. You kind of wonder whether he got that injury getting a facial. I mean, that's how sensitive and delicate this brother has been. I'm only kidding, of course. But still, it's been that way, so we got to understand that. And I think that when everybody's talking about him, I think the thing that they're missing, that I find a bit unfair, is that we're acting like the man is just in the off season doing nothing but getting fat and he's out of shape, et cetera, et cetera. Well, damn, if you hurt all the time, and it's on the lower extremities, how are you supposed to get in shape? You can't work out. But so much, that's my thing. And I just think that that's something that's worth bringing up in fairness to him. Look, when he's healthy as a talent, he's one of the greatest big men this game has ever seen. As a talent. Certainly his credentials don't measure up. He's never even been to the conference finals, let alone the NBA Finals. But as a talent, Joel Embiid is a monster. He's the real deal. And if you're giving me a healthy Joel Embiid and a healthy Nicola Jokic, I'm going with Embiid. I ain't apologize for that to nobody. But I would pick Jokic all day, every day because he's always healthy. He's on the court. It's not the case with it be. We need to get over that and understand that's just the way it is and that's the way it's going to stay. There's no way around it, people. Trust me on this. There's no way around it. Coming up, a former rapper turned politician who says he's the victor, not a victim. My conversation with the man known as Moses Michael Levi Barrow, also known as rap artist Sean. You think everybody else and their grandmama has something to say about P. Diddy? Who would know more about P. Diddy than that, brother? He's right here. Next, our exclusive interview with the one and only Sean himself, next on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Don't go away. Okay, everybody, you know what time it is. It's time for Stephen A. Sports Picks. If you live and breathe sports like me, then I'm sure you would do anything to put yourself in the middle of all that action. And how do you solve that problem exactly? You can use Prize Picks, the largest daily fantasy sports platform in all the land you see with Prize Picks, you simply choose two, three, or even up to six of your favorite players and then pick more or less on their projected stats for the game. Choose whoever it is you love to watch. That could be Brock Purdy. It could be Paul George. Could be Devin Booker, hell, Jamar Chase. All in the same entry. And if you sign up right now with code SAS, Prospects will give you $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. You don't need to win your lineup to receive the $50 bonus, y'all. It's guaranteed. All you have to do is play a $5 lineup on prospects and you will get $50 instantly. Okay, now let's get to it. I'll be making picks for this Friday's big fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. First up, Mr. Jake Paul himself. More or less than 55 and a half total punches landed. I was a bit iffy on this because I know that even though he's going up against a man twice his age, the fact of the matter is if. If Mike Tyson hits you and he catches you, that's a problem. I don't give a damn who you are. And I've seen Jake Paul in the ring on plenty of occasions, not necessarily throw a whole abundance of punches. But I predict that in this particular fight, whether it's jabbing, whether it's Swinging for the fences. The brother's going to throw more punches than normal. 55 and a half. I'm going to go with more on this for Jake Paul. More than 55 and a half punches. As it pertains to Mike Tyson himself. Iron Mike Tyson himself, more or less than 42 and a half total punches landed. Look, he is twice the brother's age, okay? I don't expect the level of activity we customarily saw from Mike tyson in the 80s and the 90s. I ain't going that damn far. But can I see him throwing 42 or more punches or 42 and a half more punches? Getting a little flurry here and there. And he's swinging. Yes, I can see that. So guess what? With this one, I'm going to go with Mike Tyson more for Mike Tyson throwing 42 and a half punches. More punches than the 42 and a half. All right, but listen, I've got a surprise for y'all, right? This is not what I normally do with this segment, but I'm going to take a left turn here. All right, here's my surprise. Today we have a special guest. He was last year's winner of the Prospects World Championship. Please welcome the one and only Kyle Forjard. What's going on? Big time. How are you, man? How's everything?