While Stephen A. Smith might be eyeing a potential presidential run, his focus for now truly remains with ESPN. Being paid over $20 million annually for his blunt opinions, even the NBA is not safe from the veteran broadcaster. The recent criticism is aimed at the pro league despite its record-breaking year.
On the recent episode of First Take, Smith was on the side of Jay Williams, who stated college basketball is currently a better product than the NBA. This agreement comes at a time when the NBA has averaged 1.8 million viewers per game across NBC, ESPN/ABC, and Prime Video through regular-season play through the All-Star break. This figure is 16% better than the old deals with ESPN/ABC and TNT.
Even though the NBA has posted the highest average since the All-Star break in 2018, SAS is not convinced. Because the growth of the league is skewed since NBC’s games are averaging 2.6 million viewers, up a staggering 97% than the games that aired on TNT. NBC’s reach as a broadcast network is significantly greater than TNT’s reach as a cable network, so a percentage increase this season is not a reason to celebrate, as per Smith.
Instead, his focus is on the talent and the skills that college basketball helps develop. “The talent in pro basketball is obviously exponentially better. The game itself, that is, college basketball, is more intriguing, more compelling,” Smith said. “When we look at the NBA game, if it ain’t heavy pick-and-roll, it’s three-point shooting. They’re launching three-point shots at 37 attempts per team, per game”.
The crew debates men’s college hoops vs. the NBA 🍿
Which product is better? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/57wZ9340Eg
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 19, 2026
Stephen A. Smith was happy that the college basketball athletes showed a mixed bag with their post-play and mid-range shots. Also celebrated that the NCAA rating was up 30% across all networks this season. Another reason why Stephen A. was not a fan of the current product of the NBA was because of the team’s load management and tanking stance.
“And by the way, that’s when you see them, because of load management…you ain’t seeing that in college basketball for the most part. The talent is exponentially better in the NBA, of course it is, no doubt about that. But there’s an urgency with college basketball that makes it more interesting than the NBA.”
With 82 games in the regular season, naturally, college basketball would be more entertaining. In the NBA, the teams also have an advantage in tanking, which is not present in the NCAA. In fact, in college basketball, the coaches are tied to a performance bonus linked to March Madness, which makes them compete even harder.
Let’s not forget that NBA is also in the middle of multiple investigations. The betting claims, the alleged cap circumvention from the Clippers, and fining teams for not tanking on purpose. The negative press around the league does drive away some of the viewers.
Can some reforms change Stephen A. Smith’s heart?
No doubt, the viewership is increasing, but so is the scrutiny from the fans. Be it analysts like Stephen A. Smith or fans across the board, the product and performance of some teams have raised questions about the integrity of the league. In the middle of those questions is Commissioner Adam Silver. With multiple fires to put out, his focus on reducing teams losing on purpose was in the headlines this past week.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne pointed it out on the Rich Eisen Show. “You have to incentivize competition. So I think Adam already gave you a hint in what he said. ‘I’m not so sure the bottom eight teams are actually the worst teams because there’s such an incentive to tank.’ Teams are doing overt behaviors to lose. So that the teams at the very bottom aren’t necessarily the worst teams.”
Following on this, Adam Silver even sent a direct message to all the teams. “You could assume for next season your only incentive will be to win games.” On February 19, during a video call with all 30 general managers organized by executive vice president Evan Wasch, rather than being diplomatic, the Commissioner was rather blunt and direct with his statement.
If the tanking problem is somewhat solved, more teams will start competing hard during the regular season, despite the standings. It could be the way that Stephen A. Smith and certain fans feel more connected to the pro league than college hoops.