The NBA has established itself as one of the most entertaining leagues across all sports. What adds more layers to it are the personal details of the NBA personalities, and sometimes their reaction.

One such incident took place recently as Stephen A. Smith responded for the second time in a month to the people who made fun of his 1.5 points-per-game stat from his college basketball days.

Why did Stephen A. Smith have such a low average?

Last year, Smith’s college career’s final season stats surfaced for which NBA fans ridiculed him. He took time to address the reason behind those numbers to shut down the “ignorant” haters.

In the late 1980s, Smith received a scholarship from a Division 2 program where he, unfortunately, cracked his kneecap during his first year. Talking about it on Podcast P with Paul George, he said, “I actually had to leave school for a semester to go home under my mother’s insurance to rehab.”

It was a difficult period for him as he recounted, explaining, “They paid for the operation, but they did not pay for the rehabilitation.”

He tried to rehabilitate in isolation before going back to his college. The facilities he received during that time were not up to the level required, so, in his own words, “I never completely recovered from it.”?He then tried to go back to college practice but could not keep up anymore.

Opening up about his final season stats, Smith indicated that he might have registered even fewer points than 1.5 points per game. “No, it was less. I never played,” he said, hinting at how much he struggled throughout his college basketball years. That’s why he called the mockers “Ignorant a**es,”?for making such remarks without knowing the backstory.

It was the second time he did so this week, after talking about it publicly a few days ago. As reported by Athlon Sports, Smith highlighted his college-life challenges, saying, “They said I’d never walk straight again.”

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His words remind us of the unspoken humble beginnings and struggle media personalities also have to go through to establish themselves.

The inspiring journey of a debatable character

Stephen A. Smith often becomes a soft target for NBA fans for his words directed toward the superstars of the game. Despite being a well-known NBA personality, he never sugarcoats his words.

He is not perfect, just like all of us. At the same time, he is unwilling to back down in a situation. These two contrasting factors make him a controversial character at times. But this story, hopefully, would inspire the fans never to give up themselves.

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The struggles that he shared made him the Stephen A. Smith we know today. In one way, his basketball career as a player did not pan out as he might have expected. But that probably fueled the desire in him to become an irreplaceable NBA personality for the ages.