Following game three of the NBA Finals, Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was asked in the postgame if he’s been paying attention to the discussions surrounding the series regarding his level of play from game to game. In response, Haliburton went on to say that the “talking heads on the major platforms” don’t know anything about the game of basketball. Subsequently, Nick Wright on First Things First followed Stephen A. Smith’s lead on these comments during their Thursday telecasts.
Wright said that his “anger” would rise to the levels of his colleagues “earlier this morning,” but instead had a question in retort for Haliburton on what qualifications should be needed to opine about the NBA.
“Who can talk about basketball? Because the answer can’t be the retired players,” said Wright. “Have you heard these podcasts? You might think some of our takes are out of line. I don’t know if you guys have sample some of the retired players’ podcasts and what’s happening in those streets.”
Furthermore, Wright continued to ask if the current players made more sense, using examples of certain things current players have said about the NBA. He stated his overall point for the line of questioning was because “bad basketball takes” are all around.
“Bad basketball takes know no country, and good basketball takes know no country either,” said Wright. “The gatekeeping of who is and who isn’t allowed to talk about hoop, when some of the people who theoretically should be the most experts talking about hoop, seem to have some of the wildest opinions out there. I think it’s unfair. I think everybody likes that basketball is a sports that we discuss.”
Earlier in the day, Stephen A. Smith took a more personal route in his response to Haliburton’s comments, saying he’s been covering the NBA for 30 years. He also stated that he is concerned with Halliburton’s sensitivity to a recent poll of NBA players who ranked the Pacers’ guard as the most overrated player in the league. Additionally, he emphasized that the critique Haliburton shared in the postgame comments was misdirected at the wrong people.
“It was the media that came out and said you’re not overrated. It was your peers who voted you overrated, not the media. You see how slick these dudes get? They try to point at the media. No, it’s your colleagues,” explained Smith. “Focus on the damn finals. You ain’t win it yet. You still got two to go.”
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