Stephen A. Smith Makes Bold, Bright Prediction For Knicks, Brunson's Future

The outspoken ESPN analyst/New York Knicks fan offered some rare optimism when asked to compare the future of some of the NBA's brightest stars.

Stephen A. Smith has no specific year but he at least partly believes that he and his fellow New York Knicks fans won't have to wait long to see the team's next, long-awaited Larry O'Brien Trophy hoist.

On the most recent week-closing edition of "First Take," the fiery ESPN analyst ... and dual Knicks supporter/critic ... Smith was presented with the idea of either Jalen Brunson, Joel Embiid, or Trae Young earning an NBA title and who would do so first. In a departure from his often pessimistic takes on the Knicks, Smith believes that Brunson has the best chance to emerge victorious in the final round first of that young trio.

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"I don't know if (the Philadelphia 76ers are) going to be able to get Embiid the requisite help that he needs," Smith declared. "I certainly don't believe in (Young's Atlanta) Hawks in terms of championship contention. So I'm going to go with the Knicks."

Both the Knicks and Brunson have done their parts to help each other out since the two sides agreed on a four-year, $104 million contract. The former Dallas Maverick embarked upon a career-best season and helped push the Knicks to their first playoff series victory since 2013 while New York management has brought Brunson's friends from the Villanova Wildcats in to help him out, trading for Portland's Josh Hart at the last trade deadline and signing Donte DiVincenzo from Golden State over this summer.

Looking to build on the year partly brought about by Brunson's breakout, the Knicks have lingered in the conversation for several notable NBA stars from abroad, including Embiid. Smith, however, apparently wants no part of Embiid, bringing up one of reigning NBA MVP and newly married man's darkest basketball moments in expressing his support for Brunson and the current Knicks.

“I remember him crying after they lost to Kawhi Leonard and Toronto when the ball bounced at the rim four times,” Smith said, recalling the 76ers' hearbreaking loss to the eventual-champion Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals. “I can't imagine how much he was crying this past weekend (at his wedding).”

Philadelphia boasts the third-longest active playoff appearance streak in the NBA at six seasons but has not appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals in that span. Last year saw them eliminated alongside the Knicks in the conference semifinal round, as Embiid's MVP campaign ended in a seven-game defeat to the Boston Celtics.

The Knicks' attempt to build on last year's success, one undoubtedly burdened with weighty expectations, will be one of the more intriguing subplots of the NBA season. Time will tell if they prove worthy of a more elaborate quest as they try to keep pace with the East's penthouse dwellers.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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