SI

Stephen A. Smith's Dream NBA Finals Scenario Would Be Incredible Theater

The matchup would also bring in huge ratings for ABC/ESPN.

Kyle Koster

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates with guard Luka Doncic (77) during the second quarter against the LA Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images
In this story:

It's St. Patrick's Day, so it's the perfect time to start looking ahead to the NBA Finals and concocting a dream matchup. Appearing on Get Up Monday, Stephen A. Smith shared what he would really like to see, and it just so happens that it'd be an enormous ratings swoon for ESPN/ABC.

"Cleveland versus the Los Angeles Lakers," Smith said. "LeBron James going to Cleveland trying to prevent Cleveland from capturing an NBA championship."

Yep, that would be pretty good. And potentially better from a neutral observer/storyline enthusiast perspective than yet another edition of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry with everything on the line. Especially if one shares Smith's opinion that a Boston-Los Angeles Finals would be over before it starts.

"Here's the reason why I would put that over L.A.-Boston," Smith said. "I don't believe the Lakers have a chance against the Boston Celtics. I think the Boston Celtics would run them out of the building. Cleveland is a different matter because they haven't been there, they haven't proven it."

It's nice to daydream and look ahead. But there are plenty of regular season games left to play and the Lakers have taken a step back following James's injury. They currently occupy the No. 5 seed in the West, meaning they'd have to do a tremendous amount of work on the road in order to make it to Smith's dream series.

More NBA on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
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.

Home/NBA