TNT’s Kenny Smith Draws Consensus Ridicule for NBA All-Star Saturday Comments

Saturday night’s NBA All-Star events featured some top-tier performances, but in the eyes of fans, players and many others who took to social media, TNT analyst Kenny Smith was not among the night’s winners. The longtime member of Inside the NBA received backlash for numerous comments, including some about WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu, who went toe-to-toe with Stephen Curry in a three-point shootout.

Ionescu lost by just three points to Curry in their head-to-head matchup while tallying the same total as three-point shootout winner Damian Lillard in his final round (26). However, Smith’s comments following the competition belittled Ionescu’s performance.

“She should have shot it from the women’s line,” Smith said. “That would have been a fair contest. I still root for Sabrina … But she should have shot from the three-point line that the women shoot from.”

Reggie Miller then asked Smith why he was putting “those boundaries” on Ionescu when she wanted to do the challenge from the NBA three-point line, and the analyst proceeded to double down.

“She should have shot from the line. There is a women’s tee in golf and there is a men’s tee for a reason,” Smith added.

This was just one bit of what Smith said on Saturday that played a large part in sending the internet into a frenzy, and the reactions poured in immediately.

It didn’t stop there, either, as Smith made multiple comments on various topics that left Miller as one of many who were a bit baffled.