April 15, 2025 • 6 mins
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Let's stay in the NBA for a quick topic that
raised a few eyebrows this weekend. That's because Hall of
Famer Isaiah Thomas called out the one and only Lebron
James himself for being quote unprofessional end quote, for wearing
no shirt during early shooterun on Friday. This is what
Isaiah Thomas had to say about Lebron while NBATV role
(00:25):
the warm up video. Y'all gotta see this, Take a
look at this. I just totally one hundred percent object
to this. If I was a GM or coach, I
would never let one of my players walk out on
the floor looking like this. The professionalism in our NBA
league is the minute so much. I like Lebron, but
to walk out on the floor before a game with
no shirt on and shoot, I mean, come on, man,
(00:46):
where are we at?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
What we doing?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Adam Silver, if you want to find somebody find that,
put a fine on that end quote. Isaiah Thomas is
one hundred percent right. It's just a bad example to
use because you see, contrary to what some of you
(01:10):
trolls out there want to instigate and fabricate and start up.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
When it's talking about Steven A.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Smith and Lebron I told y'all, I'm gonna always be fair.
I'm going to do my job regardless of how we
feel about each other.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm going to do my job.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Lebron James is not the greatest example to use because
ninety nine percent of the time the brother epitomizes professionalism.
Lebron James is usually dressed up. Lebron James carries the
mantle and conducts himself with the proper level of decorum
(01:53):
and professionalism. Media interviews, post games, availability, stuff like that.
Lebron James shows up big events representing the NBA brand.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It's Lebron James you lean on.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
So to mention a word unprofessionalism and him with a
broad brush would be incredibly unfair.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But if you're.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Isolating an incident which Isaiah Thomas dead.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Then it's more than fair.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And the reason why it's more than fair is because
you're thinking about what's going on in a moment. You're
a man out there with no uniform, no T shirt
on in a professional environment. You're not in a closed
door practice. You're out at the arena where fans have
already been allowed to enter the arena. It is a
(02:50):
professional environment, but Most importantly, it's about who this critique
is coming from, y'all. Do understand at that champion that
is Isaiah Thomas was also the president of the Players
Association for years, right? Did y'all know that when it
came to diversity in the sport covering the NBA, that
(03:10):
one of the biggest people who spearheaded that movement was
Isaiah Thomas who brought it up and made it an
issue during collective bargaining negotiations in the eighties. Did you
know that because he did it, so people like me
and Michael Wilbon and various others who had been blessed
and fortunate enough to cover.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
The NBA for years, including women.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
By the way, Isaiah Thomas was one of the people
who spearheaded that movement. And when they talk about the
level of professionalism law before David Stern in the aftermath
of the brawl at the Palace in Auburn Hills in
two thousand and four, so implemented a dress code law.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Before that, it was Isaiah Thomas.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Who was a leader amongst many the Michael Joy of
the world, the allowance on mornings of the world, the
shack Deesel go back and look at the footage. Did
you see how they came to a game? Did you
see how they were dressed? Do y'all know who the
most popular coaches were at that time?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Pat Raley, remember how he dressed?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Chuck Day Daddy Rich as my man John Sally would
call him.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Remember how he dressed.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Everybody would would would bow to the altar of Chuck Daly,
God rest the soul.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Larry Brown helped upgrade my wardrobe. I'll tell y' all
that story one day. If I haven't already, remember how
coaches were dressed. You ain't see coach dressed. Coaches dressed
in warm up suits and sneakers.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
There's a level of professionalism that came associated with the sport.
And Isaiah Thomas didn't escape mentioned in that as well.
When somebody, like whether it was Jalen Rose or whatever else,
was on the set with him and when they said, yo,
what about the coaches, Isaiah said them too. So he's
talking about a professionalism and a standard that has been ignored.
Now in terms of the media, I think it's safe
(05:08):
to say that if anybody had the right to speak
on this issue, it would be made In case y'all
didn't notice your brother dresses quite nicely. Matter of fact,
I gotta talk to my damn nephew Josh and how
he been dressing. He gotta upgrade his wardrobe because there's
a standard that comes across associated with your boy, Stephen.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
They you don't believe me as first take. It ain't
no accident.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
I might say it with a smile on my face
half jokingly, but I'm also serious. Oh you're gonna dress
on first take. You ain't gonna just show up dressed
in the old kind of way. He ain't going down
like that. Professionalism matters. This was a rare moment when
(05:55):
we can look at a lebron and somebody like Isaiah
Thomas whatever dream out of the word unprofessional when it
came to him. But it doesn't mean that particular critique
wasn't appropriate for that one time. It's worth mentioning it
plain and simple.
Let's stay in the NBA for a quick topic that
raised a few eyebrows this weekend. That's because Hall of
Famer Isaiah Thomas called out the one and only Lebron
James himself for being quote unprofessional end quote, for wearing
no shirt during early shooterun on Friday. This is what
Isaiah Thomas had to say about Lebron while NBATV role
(00:25):
the warm up video. Y'all gotta see this, Take a
look at this. I just totally one hundred percent object
to this. If I was a GM or coach, I
would never let one of my players walk out on
the floor looking like this. The professionalism in our NBA
league is the minute so much. I like Lebron, but
to walk out on the floor before a game with
no shirt on and shoot, I mean, come on, man,
(00:46):
where are we at?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
What we doing?
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Adam Silver, if you want to find somebody find that,
put a fine on that end quote. Isaiah Thomas is
one hundred percent right. It's just a bad example to
use because you see, contrary to what some of you
(01:10):
trolls out there want to instigate and fabricate and start up.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
When it's talking about Steven A.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Smith and Lebron I told y'all, I'm gonna always be fair.
I'm going to do my job regardless of how we
feel about each other.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
I'm going to do my job.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Lebron James is not the greatest example to use because
ninety nine percent of the time the brother epitomizes professionalism.
Lebron James is usually dressed up. Lebron James carries the
mantle and conducts himself with the proper level of decorum
(01:53):
and professionalism. Media interviews, post games, availability, stuff like that.
Lebron James shows up big events representing the NBA brand.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It's Lebron James you lean on.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
So to mention a word unprofessionalism and him with a
broad brush would be incredibly unfair.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But if you're.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Isolating an incident which Isaiah Thomas dead.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Then it's more than fair.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
And the reason why it's more than fair is because
you're thinking about what's going on in a moment. You're
a man out there with no uniform, no T shirt
on in a professional environment. You're not in a closed
door practice. You're out at the arena where fans have
already been allowed to enter the arena. It is a
(02:50):
professional environment, but Most importantly, it's about who this critique
is coming from, y'all. Do understand at that champion that
is Isaiah Thomas was also the president of the Players
Association for years, right? Did y'all know that when it
came to diversity in the sport covering the NBA, that
(03:10):
one of the biggest people who spearheaded that movement was
Isaiah Thomas who brought it up and made it an
issue during collective bargaining negotiations in the eighties. Did you
know that because he did it, so people like me
and Michael Wilbon and various others who had been blessed
and fortunate enough to cover.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
The NBA for years, including women.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
By the way, Isaiah Thomas was one of the people
who spearheaded that movement. And when they talk about the
level of professionalism law before David Stern in the aftermath
of the brawl at the Palace in Auburn Hills in
two thousand and four, so implemented a dress code law.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Before that, it was Isaiah Thomas.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Who was a leader amongst many the Michael Joy of
the world, the allowance on mornings of the world, the
shack Deesel go back and look at the footage. Did
you see how they came to a game? Did you
see how they were dressed? Do y'all know who the
most popular coaches were at that time?
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Pat Raley, remember how he dressed?
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Chuck Day Daddy Rich as my man John Sally would
call him.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Remember how he dressed.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Everybody would would would bow to the altar of Chuck Daly,
God rest the soul.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Larry Brown helped upgrade my wardrobe. I'll tell y' all
that story one day. If I haven't already, remember how
coaches were dressed. You ain't see coach dressed. Coaches dressed
in warm up suits and sneakers.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
There's a level of professionalism that came associated with the sport.
And Isaiah Thomas didn't escape mentioned in that as well.
When somebody, like whether it was Jalen Rose or whatever else,
was on the set with him and when they said, yo,
what about the coaches, Isaiah said them too. So he's
talking about a professionalism and a standard that has been ignored.
Now in terms of the media, I think it's safe
(05:08):
to say that if anybody had the right to speak
on this issue, it would be made In case y'all
didn't notice your brother dresses quite nicely. Matter of fact,
I gotta talk to my damn nephew Josh and how
he been dressing. He gotta upgrade his wardrobe because there's
a standard that comes across associated with your boy, Stephen.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
They you don't believe me as first take. It ain't
no accident.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
I might say it with a smile on my face
half jokingly, but I'm also serious. Oh you're gonna dress
on first take. You ain't gonna just show up dressed
in the old kind of way. He ain't going down
like that. Professionalism matters. This was a rare moment when
(05:55):
we can look at a lebron and somebody like Isaiah
Thomas whatever dream out of the word unprofessional when it
came to him. But it doesn't mean that particular critique
wasn't appropriate for that one time. It's worth mentioning it
plain and simple.
Host
Stephen A. Smith
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