Pelicans feud with Stephen A. Smith over Zion Williamson comments

That led to a ruthless reponse from the Pelicans’ official X page. The Pelicans posted a curated video montage of Smith being absolutely awful at sports over the years. They also included the caption, “Stick to solitaire Stephen” (referencing Smith’s infamous solitaire scandal from last year’s NBA Finals).

Smith then retorted by claiming that those videos were many decades old and added that he would now be roasting the Pelicans on the next morning’s edition of “First Take.” The Pelicans then fired back with a GIF image of Max Kellerman, Smith’s former ESPN co-host whom Smith forced off “First Take,” seemingly for being too good at debating him.

While the oft-injured and oft-out-of-shape Williamson is regularly targeted by critics, there is some history here with Smith in particular. Back in 2024, the Pelicans already had a nearly-identical feud with Smith over Smith’s opinions about Williamson.