? Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

As he prepared to coach in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game last night, Stephen A Smith found himself getting X-Rays. He said he slipped and fell after Micah Parsons was talking some talk ahead of the game in Indianapolis, and he missed the start of First Take Friday as he got everything figured out.

Smith injured his ankle on Thursday, and despite what Molly Qerim said at the start of the show, he didn’t get crossed over by Parsons – who’s playing for Shannon Sharpe’s team Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Smith is on the court for the game, and he didn’t have a noticeable limp as he patrolled the sidelines.

In fact, Michael Jordan sent him some Jordan 4s ahead of the game. The specific colorway Smith is wearing, “Bred Reimagined,” drops Saturday.

“My dumb self – the same dude that threw that whack first pitch out at Yankee Stadium because I wore Christian Louboutin red-bottom sneakers – decided last night, after Micah Parsons was chirping at me, to get on the same basketball court with the same damn sneakers on and shoot a jump shot from the left wing,” Smith said. “I slipped, both feet went in the air, came down on my ankle and ended up having to go to the daggone hospital to get it X-Rays. It’s just a sprain, there’s no tear, there’s no broken bones. But it is quite embarrassing.

“But hey, it’s alright. That’s why I’m here. … Michael Jordan sent [the shoes] – I’m not lying, no exaggeration – he sent them this morning.”

Stephen A Smith: ‘Crossed over by a Cowboy? … Are you kidding me?’

At the top of Friday’s edition of First Take, Qerim said Smith – a noted Cowboys hater – said Parsons crossed him up so badly, he had to go to the hospital. But when Smith joined the program, he clarified what happened and said it had nothing to do with Parsons playing him one-on-one.

“She made the whole thing up,” Smith said. “That’s No. 1. Crossed over by a Cowboy? By Micah Parsons? Are you kidding me? I got it. Let me tell my story please. I listened to your drivel, your lies to the American people. … They had the practice last night, and Shannon didn’t show up. So I go there, because I’ve got to scout my team. I’ve got to see who I’m playing, who I’m going to put on the bench, because I’m not losing this game tonight, okay? And the next thing you know, that damn Micah Parsons is on the basketball court, acting like he’s trying to sack quarterbacks and stuff, and pushing people around.

“So after that, they were sitting up there, and he and I were shooting around, shooting against one another, and there was some sweat on the floor. I literally was about to pull-up, just shooting. I literally busted my a--. I mean, feet flying in the air and everything. You see what I’m saying? I got up, it was like I was sliding, it was like I was sliding into third base or something. It was that bad.”

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