Blake Griffin says Stephen A. Smith’s response to Tyrese Haliburton in 2025 became a distraction in the middle of the point guard’s first NBA Finals. As one of the most famous sports media journalists, Smith has made a name for dishing out criticism. Griffin’s pushback lands as his show, which premiered Oct. 20, takes on the state of sports journalism and what happens when the story shifts from the player to the pundit.
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On his brand-new late-night sports show, The Stepback with Blake Griffin, the former Clippers star discussed how Smith treated Haliburton. During a broadcast, the commentator asked Haliburton to “focus on the damn finals.”
“My brother, he’s trying to [focus], but you won’t shut the f**k up. And the thing is, that’s a crazy distraction to have in the middle of your first NBA Finals. That’s not a teammate, or an opponent, or even a ref. It’s not an injury, or a fan in the crowd, or an opposing coach,” Griffin joked.
“It’s just a guy who decided the way he’s going to make money that month is by going after you specifically.”
Why was Smith so hell-bent against Haliburton? In 2025, the Pacers’ star averaged 21.0 points and 10.5 assists against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks are Smith’s favorite team, so the series got a ton of coverage from him.
As Griffin highlighted on his show, Smith had multiple segments, all focused on Haliburton. After a while, the player became upset with the media’s coverage of him.
“You know, most of the time, the talking heads on the major platforms, I couldn’t care less. Honestly, like, what do they really know about basketball?” Haliburton had said in a press conference.
Why Stephen A. Smith’s reaction caught Blake Griffin’s eye
His words caught Smith’s attention, and he had an answer ready.
After Haliburton’s clap back to the media, Smith appeared displeased. Haliburton never named him and yet it was almost as if Smith took his words as a personal message directed at him.
Smith went on live TV and claimed that “players far more accomplished and more superior have made their efforts” trying to call him out, but it hasn’t moved the needle at all.
He felt the need to tell Haliburton that he’s going to be right there, reporting and expressing his opinion every year. It was this response that made Griffin ask: “What in the movie villain f**k is Stephen A. doing here?”
Griffin claimed that Smith was making himself a part of the story that otherwise did not involve him explicitly. He believed that the response from Haliburton was being blown out of proportion by the broadcaster.
It was not the first time Smith has been drawn into a public back-and-forth with a player. Over the years he has traded barbs with LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and John Wall, and a 2019 Washington Post report described some of those players as “unpaid co-stars” of his programming.
Griffin’s argument came as part of a broader critique. He argued that sports journalism has changed a lot, going from having many beat writers chasing the story to insiders knowing things before everyone else.
He added that now much of the information comes from people in constant conversation with players. They get the scoop, deliver it online, and are paid handsomely for it. Whether it’s for better or worse, that’s anyone’s guess.