Stephen A Smith UPDATED Reaction- Kristaps Porzingis From Draft to NBA Rookie Star

Stephen A Smith reacts to the New York Knicks drafting Kristaps Porzingis. Montage shows his progression from initial criticism to eventually praising Porzingis. Highlights of Porzingis' game play are interspersed. Skip Bayless and Molly Qerim join in on the First Take set.

0:06 Initial Criticism of Knicks draft pick
0:25 Malcolm X style rant "Hoodwinked!"
0:53 Phil makes Shawn Bradley comparison. Stephen A sounds off
1:30 Continued criticism of Porzingis
2:55 Stephen A finally praises Porzingis
4:18 Molly: "Take a selfie with Porzingis"

Content from ESPN First Take and NBA. First Take airs on ESPN 2 every weekday 10 AM-12 PM EST.

[justinl]

this dude bashes anyone who is not named Michael Jordan

[jamesglascock]

stephen a smith talks like HE HAS THE CAPS LOCK ON

[Celic]

If your gonna talk shit about somebody at least say their name right

[jackjelf]

Stephen a is the biggest bandwagon in the sports media world.

[ssw]

'Never saw him play until he got to the NBA'. That's the problem with Stephen A Smith, talks too much out of '2nd hand impressions' and towing the conventional line without even first hand experience.

[jannkieran]

Project my ass porzingis might be the best from the draft

[rawkaveli]

Whether you know him as Porzingod, Godzingis, Porzingoat, Goatzingis, Godzingoat, or Goatzingod, remember that he will go down as the savior of the New York Knicks.

[LoPiccolo.]

Kristaps handled his whole situation great. From being booed and hearing that the Knicks shouldn't have picked him to now being ONE OF the best big men in the league. He didn't let none of the negativity get to him. Starting to become a big fan of him.

[robertss]

Kristaps Porzingis in a win over the Rockets...

24 points
14 rebounds
7 blocks

[NotCommanderShepard]

From a roaring lion to an apologetic sheep.

[CounterCultureCantCount]

14, 3 ppg / 7, 3 rbg / 1, 3 apg / 1, 9 bpg / 0, 7 spg - He is 20 years old.

Let that sink in...

[elwingy]

The fact that guys like Stephen A Smith became popular, speaks volumes as to the quality of the US audience....

[dainismichel]

Smith might not realize that we have a couple generations of Latvian Americans raised in EXILE during the Soviet occupation of Latvia -- add to that a whole nation that only regained its independence in 1990-1 -- all -- and i mean all of us -- rooting for KP.

Smith would do well to compare African American history to the history of the Native People of Latvia. That might help explain KP's heart.

Dare I compare KP to Muhammed Ali? We have a whole nation hoping to dare to be able to say "don't step on me, we matter. no we will not disappear despite hundreds (actually thousands) of years of marginalization and oppression."

Latvians were owned by landowners. We were bought and sold right along with property. Not a lot of people talk about that, but it's true.

So, when Latvians watch KP competing in the USA -- in the actual "real" NBA -- we lift him up in our hearts as he jumps -- we want his shots to go in from thousands of miles away. He really is a hero -- and he is even taking pics w the Latvians living in the places where he plays.

If he lasts or doesn't last (but I have a feeling he'll last), we love him. We are grateful for his presence, strength, determination, and intelligence. A culture, people, nation, and language -- so marginalized -- for so long -- but w so much to say and so much to offer.

And KP is accepting his role in the spotlight with such grace and heart :-)

That is what Smith might be missing & i think it might just bring Smith to tears -- to find out just what KP represents -- and how much it means to us that "one of us" is out there on the court playing professionally -- that one of us even "got picked."

Let that one sink in. He's a hero just for getting picked. He's a hero scoring 4 points -- not to mention 29. He's a hero if he never plays another game, and he's a hero if he dominates the court for a decade -- or two -- or longer!

When the crowd chanted his name: you can chant "Lat-vi-ja" to the chant of his name. We've hardly had a chance to shine as a people. It means a lot to us.

[natrone]

Phil was trolling with that Shawn Bradley comment lol.

[chesscomsupport]

Love how he admits he never saw Porzingis play in Europe, and acts like that doesn't invalidate his opinion.

[blakethesnak]

He’s not black.. that’s why Stephen A wasn’t sold on him.

[ericw]

After KP6 dropped 24/14 (with Seven blocks) last night, today's NY Post headline read, "Kristaps Porzingis dominates in jaw-dropping tour de force." I really enjoyed listening to Stephen A. Smith go from a hatter and loudmouth critic, to a humbled and enthusiastic supporter of this rookie (and of Phil Jackson). Just goes to show you, that self-proclaimed "experts" like Smith aren't experts at all; they are just loud, pride-filled folks that think they know something about something that they themselves have never done or accomplished.

[emmanuelmoses]

Stephen A just admitted that he bad talked a player whom he'd never seen play ....He's on tv..being paid, trashing people's names, yet he'd never even seen him play....

[tonicesar]

When you are an ignorant that never saw a Porzingis game on the ACB(Spanish league), then this happens. Thank god in Spain we have a great league with awesome players.

[zuhayrakhan]

9 years later....
Porzingis, a proud champion with the Boston Celtics, the greatest basketball franchise in history 😁