Two years on from Kobe Bryant’s death, Stephen A Smith appeared on First Take to discuss the late basketball icon and honor his memory. There were many different ways he could’ve done this, but he decided to push his own agenda while talking about the late great NBA legend.
Viewers noticed that the sports journalist was wearing a Black Mamba jacket, embroidered with Kobe’s name on the chest in gold. That’s about as good as it got for him.
The ESPN personality used a montage to talk about the Lakers legend, but while doing so, he took time to take shots at certain NBA stars which was completely unnecessary.
“Players missing games for reasons that have nothing to do with injury,” Stephen A. says in the clip, as footage of Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving appear on screen, “That was not Kobe Bryant.”
“Players collecting paychecks without regard to regular season participation, that was not Kobe Bryant,” Smith continues. “Players prioritizing any and everything but championships, that was not Kobe Bryant.”
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