‘Disgraceful!’ Stephen A. Smith Foolishly Discredits Luka Doncic 73-Point Game

The day after Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic did something we haven’t seen in nearly two decades, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith stirred the pot by trying to discredit the performance … but that’s not how history works.

Luka Doncic shocked the NBA world on Friday night by producing the highest-scoring game we’ve witnessed since the late, great Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant dropped 81 against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

Coming off three consecutive losses, Doncic poured in 73 points to help the Dallas Mavericks secure a 148-143 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The performance was a career-high, a franchise best, and it is tied for the fourth-highest-scoring game in league history.

Despite all the good vibes that come along with making history, you always have someone on the other side who will try to diminish what happened. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who is paid millions to be loud, and many times, wrong, on television, is that person today, as he tried to discredit Doncic’s historic night due to the Hawks’ poor team defense.

“Let's not go overboard with this. The fans want this? No, the league wanted it,” Smith said on an NBA on ESPN segment. “Did you see that? I mean, that was a layup line. That was the Atlanta Hawks. No wonder why y'all stink. Did you see how they played defense last night? I mean, this is not Joel Embiid who played bully ball because you know what, you have a thin Victor Wembanyama on you. We understand that, we expect that.”

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid scored 70 points earlier this week against the San Antonio Spurs, who have the 25th-ranked defense in the league. So why is that “expected,” yet Doncic, who scores at the same clip as Embiid does, isn’t expected to do the same against a Hawks defense that ranks 27th?

LEGENDS LIST: Luka Doncic Drops 73 on Hawks; Most Points Scored Since Kobe Bryant

“What transpired last night in Atlanta was disgraceful,” Smith said. “Don't tell me anybody wants that. … The Hawks, you should be ashamed of your damn self.”

Perhaps Smith should go back and take a closer look at what really transpired last night. Yes, Doncic got to the rim for some easy layups, but he also hit several contested shots and split a handful of double-teams en route to his 73-point game on 25-33 shooting from the field.

What’s really “disgraceful” is not being able to properly celebrate greatness when you see it, but when you have a famous TV personality whose job is to stir the pot, we suppose we shouldn’t expect any different.