The New Orleans Pelicans had the time of day for Stephen A. Smith.
The ESPN personality went viral this week for ruthless comments about Pelicans star Zion Williamson. Smith slammed Williamson over his weight and his diet, suggesting that Williamson loved “burgers” and “McDonald’s” too much.
That led to the Pelicans’ official page on X throwing shade at Stephen A. They posted the infamous meme showing that Smith had only averaged 1.5 points per game in college as a senior at Winston-Salem State University in 1990-91.
Smith hit back at the Pelicans, blaming his low numbers on a “devastating” knee injury he had suffered at the time. He then asked the Pelicans what their excuse was for “never winning anything.”
Smith is certainly not the first major sports personality to slam Williamson over his weight and probably won’t be the last. But that has become a bit of a tired refrain this season as Williamson is playing very well right now. He has appeared in 45 of 56 games for New Orleans and is posting a team-high 22.5 points to go with 5.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. That has helped the Pelicans earn a top-five spot in the Western Conference standings.
Recently, Smith’s abrasive style has led to some of his targets threatening to sue him. On Friday though, he faced a different kind of repercussion — getting posterized by a team account on social media.
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