At 10–2, the Los Angeles Lakers have won six straight games and recorded their best start since the 2019–20 championship campaign. Luka Doncic is leading the league in scoring, while newly acquired Walker Kessler has quickly established himself as a valuable presence in the paint. The center already has six double-doubles and ranks third in the NBA in blocks per game. Austin Reaves has also continued to thrive alongside the Slovenian superstar. Yet none of that has convinced Stephen A. Smith to reconsider his position on the team’s championship chances.
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The ESPN personality has once again questioned whether a roster built around three prominent white players can win an NBA championship. Speaking about Doncic’s championship prospects, Smith doubled down on his controversial assessment.
“You could bring up whoever the hell you want. There has never been in my lifetime an NBA team led with its top three players being white that delivered you a championship, when an abundance of brothers playing basketball hasn’t happened,” he said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “And I’m here to tell you it ain’t going to happen. I can’t see it coming. I understand that there are people who think otherwise who wish otherwise. The Olympics are coming to LA at 2028. Could you imagine the world stage considering the global iconic brand that the NBA if Luka Doncic somehow managed to win an NBA championship, that would be huge for the league.
It would be huge for the Olympics. It would be huge for LA. It would be huge for everything, but it ain’t gonna happen. I can’t see it. Not a team with its top three players being white dudes. I’m sorry. I think that’s controversial in some people’s eyes. It ain’t controversial in mine. I’m just telling you how it is. I’m calling it like I see it. I have never in my lifetime seen an NBA team with its top three players being white win a championship. It has never happened, and it ain’t gonna happen.”
This isn’t the first time Smith has raised concerns about the Lakers’ decision to build around Luka Doncic, Reaves, and Kessler. Back in July, following the team’s moves to acquire the Utah Jazz center and bring Reaves back. “But those two and Walker Kessler? You ain’t scaring anybody with that. Rob Pelinka has made this white dude central. No wonder LeBron James walked out the door,” he concluded.
His remarks quickly attracted criticism from fellow analysts. Emmanuel Acho took issue with the racial framing of the argument. “You don’t have the luxury of crying out ‘racism’ and then simultaneously spewing a racist remark. We just don’t have that luxury,” Acho said. “Contrary to Stephen A.’s belief that somebody gotta say it, nobody had to say it.”
Skip Bayless also pushed back against the idea. “These aren’t three typical white dudes because really there’s nothing typical about any of these three,” Bayless said, adding that they are “three rare white dudes, as far as I’m concerned.”
Despite the criticism, Smith has not softened his position. Even the Lakers’ early-season success hasn’t led to a change in his stance. Luka Doncic is averaging 39.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game while adding 2.0 steals.
His performances also earned him the Western Conference Player of the Week award for Week 3. Reaves has supplied another reliable scoring option, putting up 25.3 points per game.
Meanwhile, Kessler is giving the franchise the interior presence it has sought for years. He is averaging 14.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks. His ability to protect the rim and finish around the basket gives the backcourt another dimension. Those contributions have helped the Lakers establish themselves among the early contenders.
However, Smith simply doesn’t believe their current construction can carry them through four playoff rounds.