If Stephen A. Smith appeared on any more ESPN shows, the remote would need a restraining order. Morning? He’s there. Midday? Yup. Night? Still shouting. Podcasts and short clips? Everywhere. Politics? Why not?
Now he’s stepped away from NBA Countdown. Whether you believe his polished version (his choice, negotiated, nothing to see here) or the more realistic version (someone finally realized the NBA pregame show shouldn’t sound like First Take After Dark), the outcome is the same:
This is good. For ESPN. For the NBA. And yes, for Stephen A. too.
Before anyone thinks I’m ripping him, let me take you back. Early in my sports radio days in Portland, we ran a pregame segment called “Behind Enemy Lines.” If the Portland Trail Blazers were playing the Philadelphia Sixers, I’d call Smith, then at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He always answered. Always. Five minutes of smart, calm, informed basketball talk. No theatrics. No shouting. Just hoops.
That guy? Outstanding. This guy? Not worse — just everywhere.
He’s like reaching for the salt at a restaurant, and the cap falls off. A little adds flavor. Too much takes over the whole meal.
The Right Call for All
To hear him tell it: “I wouldn’t be doing NBA Countdown anymore because I didn’t want to… I got a whole bunch of other stuff I gotta do and didn’t want to be stuck in studio until midnight.” And: “It was always my intent to come off… this story is a non-story.”
Fine. Let’s take that at face value. But let’s also talk about why this needed to happen.
Nobody can be credible on everything. Stephen A. covers so much ground he should get frequent-flier miles for it — NBA, NFL, politics, culture, daytime debate, podcasts, red carpets. It’s impossible to be everywhere and still be an authority anywhere.
He’s an elite sports entertainer. For better or worse, he changed media the way Stephen Curry changed the three-point shot. But just like Curry, who can act, golf, and build brands but is ultimately defined by one thing, Stephen A. is at his best behind his own mic, driving his own show.
That doesn’t translate as cleanly to team-oriented pregame and postgame formats.
By stepping aside, he becomes more valuable where he truly moves the needle. And Countdown finally gets the chance to sound like an NBA show instead of a First Take spinoff.
Earned Value
Here’s the real story. For decades, ESPN operated like Jerry Jones: the brand is the star, the logo is the star, and nobody competes with it. Jimmy Johnson? Too big. Gone. Bill Parcells? Too much control. Gone. Jones has always believed the Cowboys brand is the real star.
ESPN lived by the same philosophy. Big personalities cycled through — Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Bill Simmons, Michelle Beadle. All stars. But ESPN always sent the same message: “The brand is bigger than you.”
Until Stephen A. Smith.
He became the first talent ESPN allowed to grow bigger than the brand itself. Not because they planned it — but because he outworked, out-yelled, and out-viral’d every boundary they thought existed. They created a monster. A successful one, but a monster nonetheless.
When one person becomes the sun in your media universe, everyone else ends up orbiting them. New voices don’t get oxygen. Rising talent stalls. Shows start sounding the same because one voice sets the tone for all of them. Before long, everybody is trying to out–Stephen A. each other.
Back to Basketball
Removing him from Countdown unintentionally did something ESPN has needed for a long time — it opened the windows. Fresh air. New voices. A chance to talk basketball at a decibel level below a jet engine. This wasn’t subtraction. It was recalibration.
Stephen A. leaving NBA Countdown isn’t a demotion or a scandal. It’s a long-overdue reset. ESPN can stop propping up every show with the same personality. The NBA gets a pregame show that might develop actual new stars instead of leaning on a single monologue machine. And Stephen A. gets to stop racing from studio to studio like he’s a media Uber driver trying to maximize surge pricing.
He’ll still own daytime and go viral ten times a week. He’ll still be unavoidable on every gym TV in America. But nobody — not even him — needs to be everywhere about everything.
This isn’t about silencing Stephen A. It’s about putting him where he fits best — and letting other shows breathe.
Maybe ESPN finally figured out what everyone else learned a long time ago: Stephen A. is excellent in moderation, overwhelming in excess, and exhausting when sprinkled on everything, whether the recipe calls for it or not.
So good for him. Good for ESPN. Great for fans. And best of all? NBA Countdown finally gets to be a show about the NBA — not a satellite campus for First Take.
If Stephen A. wants to unload while you’re brewing your morning mud, let him cook. But when the lights come on before a big game? It’s time for someone else to talk, analyze, and develop — and it’s time for Stephen A. to finally take a breath.
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With decades of experience behind the mic, John Lund is more than a sports commentator and weekly columnist for Barrett Media—he’s a storyteller, humorist, and true fan. He’s worked in sports radio in mid sized markets like Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City to larger cities like San Francisco, Detroit and Dallas. John has even been heard nationally on ESPN Radio. Known for his sharp wit and deep sports knowledge, John welcomes your feedback to his columns. You can find him on X @JohnLundRadio or contact him by email at John@JohnLundRadio.com.