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Stephen A. Smith Claims Suns' Mat Ishbia on Verge of Being Worst NBA Owner Ever

Bold take on a bad situation.

Kyle Koster

Stephen A. Smith on Mat Ishbia's tough time with the Phoenix Suns.
Stephen A. Smith on Mat Ishbia's tough time with the Phoenix Suns. / First Take, ESPN
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The Phoenix Suns faceplanted their way to a 36-46 record this season despite having a glut of talent and aspirations. Stephen A. Smith came into Tuesday's First Take with an aim to say a lot about team owner Mat Ishbia and accomplished that goal by making an extremely bold claim.

"Mat Ishbia needs to understand that right now, you are on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner in the history of basketball," Smith said.

"That's saying a lot," Smith added. "Donald Sterling once owned an NBA franchise. James Dolan, until he recently hired Leon Rose was on that trajectory. That's the trajectory if you're Mat Ishbia that you're on right now."

Smith pointed out that since the Suns went to the Finals, they got rid or Chris Paul, DeAndre Ayton, Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges and coach Monty Williams. Then juggled coaches Frank Vogel and Mike Budenholzer in and out. Then was the enormous luxury tax payment and Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal whose futures are very much in doubt.

So it's been bad. Worst ever bad? Seems like a reach.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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