Stephen A. Smith Interview: Celtics Are Title FAVORITES | Cedric Maxwell Celtics Podcast - video Dailymotion

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ESPN's Stephen A Smith delivers his take on Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics championship aspirations, teams affected most by the NBA's In-Season Tournament, how the league's players have changed over the years, and much more.  0:00 INTRO 3:20 STEPHEN A. VS BARKLEY 4:40 STEPHEN A ON CEDRIC MAXWELL 6:00 IS NBA SOFT? 7:35 DRAYMOND GREEN IN THIS ERA 10:45 STEPHEN A. ON COWBOYS 11:40 STEPHEN A. ON HIS CAREER 16:15 NEW MEDIA AND PLAYERS VOICE 22:05 STEPHEN A'S MT. RUSHMORE 30:32 CELTICS ARE TITLE FAVORITES 34:55 IST IS A SUCCESS    Visit https://Indeed.com/MAXWELL to start hiring now! Indeed knows when you’re growing your own business, you have to make every dollar count. That’s why with Indeed, you only pay for quality applications that match your must-have job requirements. Need to hire? You need Indeed! Get a $75 job credit!  FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! So, visit https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season. FanDuel, Official Partner of the NFL. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $5 pregame moneyline wager required. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.  With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Go to https://HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE and use code CLNSFREE for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. That’s free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE with code CLNSFREE!  Ever wished you could navigate the betting field with the confidence of a pro? Enter OddsR. They're not a sportsbook, but they're the sports betting advisor you've always needed. It's like having a playbook for smarter bets right in your pocket. Get a 30-day free trial! Elevate your game day and join the smart betting revolution! Go get it at https://oddsr.com/celtics  Visit https://factormeals.com/NEWSFEED50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.

Transcript

00:00 moment they gave Jalen Brown over $300 million, we need to stop talking about, "Is this it for

00:06 Boston?" What Boston said to you is, "Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum are going to be here for years to

00:14 come." Because neither is over the age of 27. They got a decade left in their game. They ain't going

00:22 anywhere. And so, because you know, if they gave Jalen Brown that money, just add a additional

00:27 $50 million to Jason Tatum's company. Just add it. And he's not going anywhere. And so, because

00:33 that's your reality, you know what? Porzingis may end up going someplace. Derek White and Orford and

00:41 those brothers may be going someplace. But Tatum and Brown are here to stay. And as long as Tatum

00:47 and Brown are here to stay, the Boston Celtics are going to continue. Now, does that mean that

00:53 they're going to win a championship this year? No. But I tell you this much, I got them as my

00:56 favorite. I'll tell you that. There is no team in the NBA that should be able to definitively look

01:04 at the Boston Celtics and say, "We're better." No one. With Brown and Tatum, with Drew Holliday

01:10 at the point, with Porzingis replacing Marcus Martin, who I miss dearly. But nevertheless,

01:17 he ain't a 7-3 shot blocker with a three-point shot. With Al Hoffman still there, with Derek

01:24 White still there. And I like Pritchett, believe it or not. I like his moxie, his guts coming off

01:30 the bench and giving you the little bit he can give you. I like that. I don't think there's any

01:35 excuse for the Boston Celtics to play second fiddle to anybody this season. Could they lose to a

01:42 Denver? Sure. Could they lose to a Milwaukee or a Philly gets an additional piece? It's possible.

01:50 But nobody should look at the Boston Celtics and view them as an underdog against any single

01:56 opponent in the NBA outside of their reigning defending champion, Denver Nuggets. And the only

02:02 reason you would do that is because their chemistry is intact and Boston is trying to figure theirs out.

02:18 The Cedric Maxwell podcast is brought to you by FanDuel,

02:21 the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network.

02:24 All right. It's another episode of the Cedric Maxwell podcast. He is Cedric Maxwell. I am

02:29 Josue Pobon. And we told you we had surprises, right, Max? We told them, we got some surprise

02:36 guests that they're not going to believe we pulled off. And this is, we didn't miss this

02:40 time. This is one of them, man. Legendary journalists, ESPN's host of First Take,

02:46 also host of the Stephen A. Smith show on YouTube, which I personally enjoy myself.

02:52 But he's Stephen A. Smith. Welcome to the Cedric Maxwell podcast, Stephen A. We appreciate you.

02:55 What's going on, man? How you doing, man? You okay, my man? I mean, it's hazardous to your

02:59 health to be working with this brother, Cedric Maxwell. You know what I'm saying? I want to make

03:02 sure that you're okay. I want to make sure that you are all right, man. I mean, that's a lot for

03:07 a youngster to be connected to. You know what I'm saying? Look, you know what? We don't talk about

03:14 the rip right now. We don't come off the rip right now and ask you, what the hell is this stuff going

03:19 on with you and Charles Barkley? Because I know y'all boys, but it just look like some stuff going

03:25 on. Oh, man. Listen, I loved it, man. It was my first time I was ever on TNT, man. Shaq and the

03:31 foolie got me real good. Barkley was getting at me and what have you. But this is how they do.

03:36 They text me with this stuff on. They're like you. I mean, it's like people see me, you and I together

03:40 and stuff like that. How we always get into it. I'm like, it's nothing different than how the man

03:44 treats me every time he talks to me. I mean, it's just the way it is. These are my boys. So it was

03:50 good. It's a lot of fun, man. You know, my big bro's getting on me the way y'all do. It's hilarious,

03:55 man. It's all good. I happened to run up on him. He was doing this take last year in Miami and he

04:01 was going back and forth. It's like, you know, Marcus, I got problems right now. The Southerns

04:06 are winning, but look the way they're winning. He's right in the middle of his broadcast and I

04:11 run into him and I'm like, how about them damn Celtics? And he looked at me like, are you serious?

04:18 I can't believe you, man. I can't believe he damn sure did it right while I'm on the air,

04:22 on the air. There's no decorum whatsoever. I'm like, I'm like, look, y'all, it's my man,

04:28 Corbett. I mean, that's what he's going to do. Just get over it. Just get over it.

04:33 He's about that life. That's right. Well, my question to you, my question to you,

04:36 off the bat, man, is how does, what does Cedric Maxwell mean to you in the sense of watching him

04:43 as a player? What I mean by that is the, he piss you off or would you cheer for him? Which one

04:48 were you? Which side were you in? I'm the kind of person I would cheer for somebody like that

04:52 because I like somebody that, you know, that that's going to talk and then that's going to

04:55 back it up. You know, I grew up and it wasn't necessarily that I was a 76ers fan, but I was

05:00 a junior serving fan. I was a Dr. J, the Dr. J. When Brett Musgrover was calling the games. And

05:06 so I will remember when, when they're playing the Celtics and Corbett would be like, it's over,

05:12 it's over, ain't coming back, ain't coming back, ain't coming back. I ain't worried about this.

05:15 I'll be like, damn. But then he'd go out on the court with Bird and the rest of the crew and they

05:21 back it up. And so I'm one of those guys that I always respect that as, as a pundit and as a

05:26 journalist and, and all of that, you know, I don't care about the talk. And as long as you

05:31 don't back it up, as long as you're not going to be a punk and deviate from the kind of things that

05:36 you said, you know, keep that same energy. If you're going to have that kind of energy,

05:40 when you're talking about somebody, when you get on the court, make sure you back it up.

05:44 And he was one of those people. And he spoke up, not just on behalf of himself, but his teammates

05:49 and sure enough, his teammates would respond. So you always had to give props to that. And because

05:53 to me, that's what champions are made of. And when we talk about today's NBA culture

05:57 and a softness that comes along with it, we're not talking about physically,

06:02 we're not talking about guys who aren't big, who aren't strong, who aren't fast or anything like

06:06 that. We understand the game has evolved, athletes have evolved. A lot of them are better and superior

06:12 than what we saw back in the day, but something set the standard, everything grows from something.

06:17 And so for me, you know, when you see the good old days, as I call it old school,

06:23 and cats had to have a lot of heart, you didn't just have to have skill, you had to have a lot

06:27 of heart. When I think this is the first generation where it's not necessarily the player's fault,

06:33 but there's been a softening mentally, mentally of things, how sensitive you are to skepticism.

06:40 You're sensitive, man. You're sensitive, man.

06:44 Yeah, exactly. All of that shit. I'm like, you know, this is some bullshit. I mean, it really,

06:48 it would really, it really drives me crazy because I think cats like Sed and others have

06:54 every right to lament the absence of intestinal fortitude and mental toughness that we see in

07:02 today's game where guys are so... Back in the day, if you sat up there and you was insulting the

07:06 Sed and all of them, they know who you are. They might say something to you before the game,

07:10 but they damn sure looking for you after the game when they prove you wrong. You see them

07:14 saying, and that's how, that's as far as it went. You got guys here that might not talk to you for

07:19 years because you pointed out a fact that's indisputable, that can't be disputed. And you're

07:26 just looking at them and it's like, damn, you need to grow up. But that's what has happened

07:30 to today's generation of players. And that's unfortunate.

07:33 Well, isn't, let me ask you this, isn't Draymond Green a kind of throwback to that time?

07:40 And you're like, I had my bouts with him, but I still look at him as like one of those guys who

07:45 would cross the line to win first team.

07:47 Yes, I agree with that. But also I know him personally, and because we talk a lot,

07:53 and from a mental perspective, if Draymond got an issue with you, Draymond's going to tell you.

07:58 He's going to search you out, he'll find you and he'll let you know what he thinks about

08:05 what you said. And being in our position, you cannot find fault with anybody that wants to

08:12 talk to me based off of something that I've said. I'm all ears. I will listen, I will have a

08:18 conversation with them, and damn it, if they wrong, I'll admit it. And if I said something

08:22 wrong publicly, I'm going to admit it publicly. And I'm going to correct myself publicly. I'm

08:28 not going to do something publicly and then all of a sudden I'm wrong, I'm going to go

08:31 hard and then privately I'll admit I'm wrong, but I'm going to hold the fort publicly. No,

08:36 no, you got to man up. Like, yo, he got a good point. He got me there, what have you.

08:40 And Draymond's one of those people that will hold you accountable. CP3 is one of those people

08:45 that will hold you accountable and stuff like that. So I appreciate that old school mentality

08:51 when it comes to that. Again, athletes back in the day were sensitive. I'm not saying that wasn't

08:56 the case. It's just that they didn't hold the grudge and hate you for life and never said

09:01 anything to you. They literally confront you and be like, yo, here's where you got this wrong. You

09:06 need to know what you're talking about. You got this wrong. This is what was the truth, et cetera,

09:10 et cetera. And when you deal with that stuff on a manhood level, then it's a lot easier to respect

09:17 the fact that you recognize tradition and what comes with it instead of capitulating to the

09:23 new school way of thinking where you've got to be soft mentally and you got to hold on to stuff you

09:28 don't need to be holding on to and walking around with unnecessary grudges over things that are

09:32 relatively small that you gave a life of its own just because of your heightened level of sensitivity.

09:38 You know what? I have to say that you're totally correct in Draymond's case

09:42 because he searched me out. He found me in the playoffs. He found me, your guy Joe Sway was

09:47 sitting there and he came to me. I was talking to Gary Payton. He was like, man, I heard something

09:53 that you, he, he told Gary Payton not to talk to me. And I said, you got something to say to me?

09:58 And he said, no, I ain't get. And then we went to the back and he was like, this is what you say.

10:03 You said that somebody would knock me out. I didn't say that. He said, I didn't say that. What

10:09 I said, if you were in the league, I said, you would get knocked the fuck out because during that

10:15 time, they wouldn't allow you to walk in somebody else's hubble. But I did respect him for exactly

10:21 what you said for him coming to me and saying, Hey, this is how I feel. And I really respected

10:27 that. Now, let me ask you this before I let Joe Sway go, I'm a cowboy fan. I need to lament with

10:35 you. My condolences. He's going to be all right. You in Boston, what the hell are you doing being

10:45 a cowboy? You went to UNC Charlotte. What the hell is going on?

10:49 - Tell him facts, tell him.

10:51 - But what are you going to do? I'm going to ask you this. What are you going to do if the

10:56 Cowboys win the Superbowl? - It's not something I've entertained.

10:59 I can't imagine. It's not something I've entertained. And I want to entertain it now.

11:04 - Wait, you're telling me to wait, Jerry? - That's the question of a typical cowboy

11:08 fan. Let me ask him what would he do if he win the Superbowl? Nah, nah.

11:14 - Y'all say it every year, and y'all stick up the joints. I mean, please,

11:19 ain't nobody trying to hear all of that. When you win, call me, call me, call me. I'll deal

11:26 with it then. But I'm not entertaining that, bro. I'm not entertaining it. Y'all make go down.

11:29 - You know what? You made a great comment, and I just wanted to touch on this before I do let Joe

11:37 Sway go on. But you talked about yourself, because I want to know about you a little bit. And I

11:42 remember you talking about ESPN, and when you first got there, they said you're going to be,

11:46 you know, this is a big pond here, and you might be a little fish. And the quote I remember you

11:52 telling the man was like, you know, no, that's not me. Your confidence went ahead. You said, no,

11:58 you turned them damn cameras on, and you watched me work, and now you become a national celebrity.

12:05 Did you ever think that you would take it to that level from where you were at Winston-Salem State

12:11 to where you are now? - I didn't believe that. I didn't analyze it that way. What I said to the

12:17 producer was, I'm not going to be a little fish in anybody's pond. I mean, that's just how I roll.

12:25 And, you know, it's very few things in life that I think that I'm relatively gifted at, but being

12:32 on television is one of them. And when I'm on television, I believe I'm the best in the world.

12:36 I really do. I don't think that anybody can do all the things that I've done. I've been a beat

12:42 writer on a high school, college, and pro level. I've been a columnist. I've been a general sports

12:49 columnist. Obviously, I've been a radio host. I've been in television. I've been an insider. I've

12:56 been a reporter. I've been a pundit and commentator. I'm a personality now. Plus, I'm the executive

13:02 producer of First Take for Crying Out Loud. The list goes on and on. With my podcast, I own and

13:08 operate it. It's mine. It's not associated with ESPN. I own and operate it. So now I'm a business

13:12 owner with my own production company. I just believe that when it comes, it's truly the way

13:17 that I've had it. There's no accuracy to it. It's just a subjective opinion. But literally, when I'm

13:23 on TV, it's the one time in my life when I'm in front of the camera, I believe that everyone is

13:29 waiting for me. I believe that I take second place to nobody. I don't give a damn what pundit it is

13:38 or whatever. I respect everybody, all of them. You might have people that have more knowledge.

13:43 You might have people that have more experience. You might have people that are better journalists.

13:48 You might have people, somebody might be more exciting as a commentator. Somebody might have

13:53 greater ratings or whatever. But I believe I'm the one person that has a resume that says, "Damn,

14:00 he did it all and he can do it all." I'm the guy that they can come to and say, "All right,

14:06 you the pundit, but the host gets sick. Stephen A., in a drop of a nanosecond, can you move to

14:13 the left and host the damn rest of the show because we need somebody to host the show."

14:19 They know they can do that with me because I've done it. "Oh, well, we need you to go to a game

14:24 and report." They know I've done that. "Oh, we need you to go on site and we need you to do X,

14:31 Y, and Z." I've done it all. And so when I consider the level of versatility in the arsenal,

14:36 it's like being on the basketball court saying, "You know what? It's somebody that could shoot.

14:42 It's somebody that can rebound. It's somebody that could pass. It's somebody that could play

14:45 defense." One of the reasons we call Michael Jordan the GOAT is because he could do whatever

14:50 you needed him to do, whatever was necessary, because he had an arsenal that appeared to be

14:56 unlimited. That's how I feel when I'm in front of the camera. I believe that I'm that dude and I'm

15:02 second to nobody. I just feel that way. - Okay. I like that, Stephen A.

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15:39 FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. -

15:43 You know, along those lines, what do you make of the way things are nowadays, right?

15:49 Maybe because the COVID shut down and nowadays people are just, they tune into YouTube,

15:54 guys are broadcasting themselves. They're getting guys to guests that they wouldn't normally get,

15:59 to do different stuff from the comfort of their home. What do you make of the way journalism

16:04 is sort of transforming to a new era? And what do you think is sort of on the horizon? What's

16:09 the concept? - I wouldn't use the word journalist because there's a lot of subjectivity that comes

16:15 into play, particularly when players are interviewing players and, you know, they're

16:19 letting them speak, but they're not challenging them on some of the opinions and thoughts or

16:23 whatever. Having said all of that, I completely and 1000% support these brothers having these

16:30 platforms, having an opportunity to express their thoughts, their beliefs, their perspectives,

16:35 their opinions, et cetera, et cetera. I got no problems with it whatsoever, especially,

16:40 I'm going to go there, especially when you're black. Because one of the things that we've

16:44 lamented throughout history is the absence of a preeminent voice. We wanted to have a voice.

16:52 That's why black folks are held to such a standard that we're held to because it's by our own. It's

16:59 not white America that's holding us to that standard. It's others. I'll give you a perfect

17:03 example. I'm co-hosting and starring on First Take. Well, when Trayvon Martin got shot,

17:09 people expected me to comment on it. They weren't expecting every sports show to comment on it,

17:15 but damn sure First Take had to comment on it. Because obviously, what you going to say,

17:19 Stephen A? When George Floyd was killed, what you going to say, Stephen A? When the racial

17:23 riots was going on, what you going to say, Stephen A? Et cetera, et cetera. There's a

17:27 level of expectations that comes with it. Why? Because we come from a community that primarily

17:33 has been voiceless throughout history, and we needed somebody to carry that mantle. Well,

17:38 now there's not one preeminent voice to do that, per se. There are an abundance of people with

17:45 voices. And as a result, we're all being heard. Now, I do think that at times we have to be

17:50 careful. There's an elevated level of responsibility. For example, I'm held to a

17:54 different standard than a player is held to. I'm held to a different standard than a former player

17:59 is held to, et cetera, et cetera. Because of my resume, my reputation, who I represent,

18:05 who I'm associated with for my day job with ESPN, et cetera, et cetera. But at the end of the day,

18:10 it's incredibly important that those voices are heard and those perspectives are provided,

18:18 because to me, it only buffers people like me and others, because we need that perspective.

18:23 Once upon a time, we had to go to DeCedric Maxwell and others to get that perspective,

18:27 and then go on air. Now, all we have to do is wave his pockets or listen to him call a self-escape

18:33 or hear what he has to say. That's what he said. Okay. How do we feel about it? And we go from

18:38 there. I think it's a beautiful, beautiful thing, personally. >> Well, Stephen, hold on. Hold on,

18:45 Max, real quick. It took me, what, three months, would you say, Max, to finally talk you into doing

18:51 this damn thing, this damn podcast? Because everything you just said, and then some, right?

18:55 Because you offer that unique perspective that obviously people hear on the radio every single

19:00 game. People want to hear what you sound like after or before the game, or talking about things

19:05 that have nothing to do with the NBA. That's the type of perspective that people are, they want to

19:10 feel like they're in the room having a conversation with Cedric Maxwell, or other former NBA players

19:14 that now have these platforms to do their podcasts. >> But there's an additional challenge that comes

19:20 with it from somebody like me, specifically. If I'm just a player or a former player with a podcast,

19:27 yeah, I'm giving you my perspective, my feel, and just my take on things. But in my position,

19:34 because of who I am, and what I've been associated with, and what have you, the expectation is an

19:42 elevated level of responsibility. So it's not just about giving the audience what they want to hear.

19:48 It's also about having the courage to tell them what they need to hear,

19:51 because of the world we're living in, and what they're subjected to. It's like a lot of times

19:55 you see cats and they're telling me, Steve and they selling out, blah, blah, blah. And then a

19:59 man like my boy Snoop Dogg comes in, he say he ain't selling out, he looking out. Because he's

20:04 here listening to me talk. And I'm not telling you I'm right or whatever. I'm saying to you,

20:10 this is the perspective. This is what's going to happen to you if you do this. I want you to know.

20:16 I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying this is the world that we're living in. And it's,

20:21 to me, I'm going to use the word stupid. It's very stupid for somebody to think that they

20:27 could say what they want to say, and do what they want to do when they got their hand out for

20:32 somebody else's money, and there's not going to be any repercussions. That's not the way the world

20:37 works. The way the world work is, is that at some point in time, compromise comes into play.

20:44 Some levels of capitulation come into play. You don't sell your soul, you don't compromise.

20:48 You take it, I've been talking to Cedric Maxwell for decades. He's always been said. He's always

20:53 been corporate. He's as real as it gets. But as real as I know him to be, I also know he knows

21:00 when to be real quiet. He knows when to be, he knows when to be, listen, this ain't a subject

21:05 I need to be touching on on this particular day. That's not smart. So even though he's outspoken,

21:13 he's very real, he's very authentic, he's also highly intelligent, because he knows the game.

21:18 And so when you know the game, people in today's world would try to make you feel like,

21:24 oh, you're a sellout, because you're mindful of the game. But you have to make judicious decisions.

21:29 And I'm talking to you directly right now. You gotta make judicious decisions. In other words,

21:33 yeah, I want to make this point. But if this point is going to get in the way of this bigger point

21:40 that needs to be made down the road, but I'm not going to be around to be listened to, because I

21:46 wanted to make this point in this little issue right here, that wasn't really accomplished.

21:51 You gotta make those decisions every day. - Well, I want to ask you this,

21:55 because I want to put you in, I got my pen out here. I'm putting the Mount Rushmore in your

22:01 backyard. - Oh, man.

22:03 - And your Mount Rushmore is what, Steve? - Basketball?

22:08 - Basketball? - No, everything. You got more people

22:11 that you can put on your Mount Rushmore. - Oh, okay.

22:15 - Of sports. - Of sports.

22:16 - For me, of sports. - Of sports.

22:19 - It's going to be, for me, it's going to be Michael Jordan. It's going to be Muhammad Ali.

22:26 I have to put Bill Russell there. The reason I have to put Bill Russell there is because it's not

22:36 just the 11 championships, it's the duress under which he achieved it. He wasn't only just a

22:42 champion as a player, he was a champion as a player coach. And yo, fellas, let's call it like

22:46 we see it. It was in Boston, in the '60s? Are you kidding me? - Come on now.

22:53 - I don't have to get into it, but we know, okay? For him to achieve what he has achieved,

23:00 what he achieved, God rest his soul. I mean, there's nothing to talk about. I mean, it's just

23:05 that phenomenal. And I would say, I would say him- - This is going to be good. Number four is

23:11 going to be good with you because you done left out a lot of people. I got to get- - I left out

23:15 a whole lot of people. I'm going to tell you, I'm going to go, we could say Jackie Robinson

23:22 integrating Major League Baseball. I get that. I would tell you that. I get that part.

23:30 And it has to start somewhere. I would tell you, believe it or not, and I've never said this before,

23:35 probably Irvin "Magic" Johnson. - Wow.

23:40 - Turn the microphone up. Turn that shit up. - Let me explain why.

23:47 - Wow. - You were going well.

23:49 - I could. If I could, it would be him with Bird because the same courtesy and credibility and

23:59 reverence I'm going to give to Magic belongs to Bird too, because they made the NBA okay to be

24:08 brought into your living room. But the reason I give that to Magic is because white America is

24:16 white America and Bird, the hit from French Flick and his greatness and what he brought to the table,

24:22 that's all fine, good and dandy. And he was phenomenal. I'm a huge Larry Bird fan and major

24:28 respect to him. But being white, he was always going to be embraced at that particular moment

24:34 in time. But Magic wasn't. Magic wasn't. And there is no Michael Jordan. There is no LeBron James.

24:43 There is no Kobe Bryant. I'm talking about in terms of being the global iconic figures that

24:48 they are. None of those people achieve that if it were not for Magic Johnson. The reason why I give

24:57 it to Magic over Jackie Robinson, even though Jackie Robinson integrated the sport of baseball,

25:02 is because we still find ourselves having a problem with baseball. Baseball is 6% black.

25:08 It's still a problem. It's the year 2023 and they've had to change different rules and make

25:18 it more appealing to the athleticism that baseball players can bring. And what happens is the pitch

25:23 count, it's the raising of the mound, you can't shift the rules, et cetera, et cetera. You got

25:30 all of these things that have sped up the games, has led to more home runs, more RBI, more runs,

25:35 more stolen bases, et cetera, et cetera. And that is really helping to ingratiate the sport with

25:41 the younger generation and inviting folks of color even more so to the game. But my point is,

25:48 in a year 2023, it's still a challenge for Major League Baseball, even though Jackie Robinson

25:53 integrated the sport in 1947. So Magic comes in in '80 and a few years later, the NBA takes off

26:03 and it's on primetime television because of Magic and Bird. And Bird deserves credit,

26:08 but he was white and they were going to give it to him anyway. Everybody was going to give it to

26:12 Magic. And that's why I got Magic on my mound rushing. - That one's pretty good. No, let me

26:18 just tell you one of them that I had. The one that I got that I put in the greatest female of all

26:24 time. And that's Serena Williams. - No problem. No problem. I think she's the greatest of all time.

26:31 I don't have a problem with Serena Williams. - I think that's the closest to your list.

26:36 - Yeah, that's the closest to my list except Magic. And as much as I hear him say that,

26:45 I do give Magic super respect. I still hate him, but I still give him super respect for not only

26:52 what he did for basketball, but more so what he did for HIV, what he did for people going forward

27:00 in business to see how well they've done. Steven, I had the chance, we were in LA after Kobe passed

27:08 away, another name you didn't mention, but after Kobe passed away, and I had the chance to be on

27:14 the panel. And it was myself, Kurt Rambis, it was Brian Scalabrine and somebody else, and Michael

27:20 Cooper. And who walks in the room, "Oh, I'm sorry, Jeannie. I didn't know you guys were in here."

27:27 I was coming down from my suite, it was Magic. He comes on stage, he reaches over to shake my hand,

27:33 and I said, "I'm not shaking your damn hand." He said, "Come on, man, show me love."

27:38 That's how much I hate that dude. But at the same time, I have to be 100% because that's what we do

27:46 on this show. We keep it on 100. I have to give my brother his due diligence. Now, the guy that

27:52 I think I lament more than anybody is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He has just been that bridge,

28:00 and intellectually, so watch how he's grown over the years. The captain is amazing.

28:06 - Let me challenge you on that. - He's a fantastic writer, too.

28:08 - Let me challenge you on that because I love and revere Kareem, and we all should. 19-time

28:14 all-star, all-time leading scorer when he retired, held on to that for years until LeBron James

28:19 eclipsed him last season. Six-time champion, six-time MVP. We get all of that. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,

28:26 7'1", the only player in the history of the sport with one patented move that no one could stop,

28:32 no matter who it was, where you were, whatever. You knew exactly what he was going to do,

28:36 and there was nothing you could do about it. All of those things are true, but I think that it was

28:41 a couple of things that this is where you have to give Bill Russell the nod, not just in terms of

28:47 number of championships, but essentially this. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a brilliant mind who was

28:55 off-putting, and people, as a result, ignored his brilliance. They were able to squash it because

29:02 they found reasons not to listen to him. This is a guy that was standing behind Muhammad Ali when

29:10 Jim Brown and Bill Russell and everybody was there. This is a guy that was fighting on behalf

29:14 of our rights as Black men, as Black people, as a society as a whole, and how we needed to do

29:22 better. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar should be revered for eternity, but when you talk about that Mount

29:27 Rushmore, part of the element that has to come into play is almost like this mindset that you're

29:34 challenging yourself. There's a difference between being listened to and being heard.

29:40 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was listened to, but Bill Russell was heard, because no matter how they

29:47 tried to derail Bill Russell, his integrity and his delivery and his presentation, it projected,

29:58 and as a result, that combined with his winning made you hear him more than you heard Kareem,

30:07 even though Kareem was just as worthy of being heard. All of those things come into play,

30:12 and that's what I'm talking about. Of course, Kareem would be on the list if I had other space,

30:19 but when you say Mount Rushmore, you only got four. You got to be able to-

30:21 Yeah, that's the thing, man. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough. Well, what about today's Celtics

30:27 and Lakers, man? I guess this is a two-part question for you. First part is, is this it

30:32 for the Celtics? Is this the team? Is this the championship team that Celtics fans have been

30:36 waiting for, or are they one significant Chris Dasport's injury away? How do you see it?

30:41 Well, here's how we have it. Here's what we need to stop. The moment they gave Jaylen Brown over

30:46 $300 million, we need to stop talking about, "Is this it for Boston?" What Boston said to you is,

30:54 Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum are going to be here for years to come,

30:59 because neither is over the age of 27. They got a decade left in their game.

31:05 They ain't going anywhere. And so, because you know if they gave Jaylen Brown that money,

31:11 just add a additional $50 million to Jason Tatum's contract. Just add it, and he's not

31:16 going anywhere. And so, because that's your reality, you know what? Porzingis may end up

31:21 going someplace. Derek Wyden and Orford and those brothers may be going someplace.

31:28 But Tatum and Brown are here to stay. And as long as Tatum and Brown are here to stay,

31:32 the Boston Celtics are going to continue. Now, does that mean that they're going to win a

31:38 championship this year? No. But I'll tell you this much. I got them as my favorite. I'll tell you

31:42 that. There is no team in the NBA that should be able to definitively look at the Boston Celtics

31:50 and say, "We're better." No one. With Brown and Tatum, with Drew Holiday at the point,

31:56 with Porzingis replacing Marcus Martin, who I miss dearly. But nevertheless, he ain't a 7-3 shot

32:04 blocker with a three-point shot. With Al Hoffman still there, with Derek White still there.

32:10 And I like Richard, believe it or not. I like his moxie, his guts coming off the bench and giving

32:15 you the little bit he could give you. I like that. I don't think there's any excuse for the Boston

32:21 Celtics to play second fiddle to anybody this season. Could they lose to a Denver? Sure. Could

32:29 they lose to a Milwaukee or a Philly gets an additional piece? It's possible. But nobody

32:36 should look at the Boston Celtics and view them as an underdog against any single opponent in the NBA

32:43 outside of the reigning defending champion, Denver Nuggets. And the only reason you would do that

32:48 is because their chemistry is intact and Boston is trying to figure theirs out.

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34:54 Your thoughts on the in-season tournament? You know, this is, we're recording this right before

34:57 the championship round. With that being said, the Lakers, Pacers, can you see this as a potential

35:04 building block for this Lakers team? How do you see this playing out for this Lakers team moving

35:08 forward? First of all, I'm in Vegas right now. I'm here in my hotel to get championship game is

35:13 tonight as the time we're taping this. I would tell you, first of all, the in-season tournament

35:20 is a success, much more successful than I thought it would be. And I felt this way for the last

35:25 couple of weeks. You know, the night when I was convinced, when I saw Golden State lose to

35:30 Sacramento 124-123 a couple of weeks. I mean, when I saw that game and how they were going at it and

35:38 how invested that crowd was, that was a playoff atmosphere. And we know what we're talking about

35:44 because we saw them against each other in the first round last year in the playoffs. And so for

35:49 me to witness that and to see them going at each other the way that they did, I got to tell you

35:55 that it was exhilarating to watch. There was no doubt about it. And then to see Indiana take down

36:03 Boston and then after that to take down Milwaukee, to see this kid Tyrese Halliburton balling out.

36:12 Flexing on him.

36:14 Which by the way, just gets on my last nerves because I begged the New York Knicks to draft

36:19 him the day before the draft. I said, you don't need no damn OB top.

36:22 Is that right?

36:23 Oh yeah. You don't need no damn OB top. You got forwards. You need a guard. You need a point

36:30 guard. Everybody in the celebration, dude, make him. And they didn't listen and look at the Knicks.

36:37 But the bottom line is, you know, 10 and 0 against sub 500 teams and two and eight against teams

36:43 above 500. Go figure. But I will tell you that again, the end season tournament is successful.

36:49 I would tell you they need to get rid of that point differential thing where you got to run

36:54 up the score and people need to get rid of that. Outside of getting rid of that, I would tell you,

36:59 I love the fact that you got a young star like Halliburton putting on the show and putting the

37:04 basketball world on notice that he's coming and this meaning so much. But I also, I love even more

37:11 a four time champion and a four time league MVP like LeBron James going out there and playing

37:18 the way that he played and showing you that this means something to him, even approaching the age

37:24 of 39 in his 21st season in the NBA, I think is a testament to his greatness, his competitive fervor.

37:32 Oh, what? And he, and to me said, he personifies what a marquee is supposed to be like when your

37:41 name is the marquee, you're supposed to be somebody that embraces it and says, here we go.

37:48 I'm gonna leave this pack. And that's what he did. And the only negative part about that

37:53 was the embarrassing performance of the new Orleans Pelicans led by.

37:57 I mean, you supposed to be the face of this franchise and you roll into the play in and you

38:05 get in the postseason rather than playing a tournament and you get trounced by 44 points.

38:10 It was supposed to be your coming out party. It was supposed to be your stage where you said,

38:15 I'm the young gun. I'm that new dude, but I ain't gonna lie to you. He walked to the

38:19 free throw line. Yo fellas, I saw a belly. I saw a belly, a belly, you know, and we doing our

38:27 homework and we're hearing from people and, and, and, and, and we're asking people what the hell

38:34 is he eating? And you know what they're saying? The table, like the tape, they ain't even,

38:42 they ain't even giving you meals. I was going to ask me to, he was the big, he's eating the table.

38:47 And when you see that, yo man, that's a problem, bro. That's a problem. Fellas. You can't have

38:54 that man. And so again, I love the fact that regular season play, the importance of it has

39:00 been elevated. I appreciated it. And they got, they still got to make some modifications,

39:06 but I would define it as a success, but primarily because of Halliburton and LeBron James.

39:12 - Man, I tell you what, we want to thank you. I know you're busy and, you know,

39:17 keeping on the hunt with us, you know, now you don't owe me that damn meal that you know,

39:21 I talked about before with you. You made that bet. You said, I tell you, this is going to happen.

39:27 I think that's when Detroit was playing Boston and Boston beat them. We made a small bet on that,

39:33 but now you off the hook too. But you know, I appreciate it. And lastly, before you go, man,

39:39 I appreciate your integrity. I appreciate what you do for black people. And for me, I hate it

39:45 when I see another brother try to trounce you saying, oh, Stephen A, that's their boy. You

39:52 have to do a job and I appreciate you doing your job. You represent yourself well. And what you do

39:59 as Joe Sway and I say, you keep on the hunt. And if you're wrong, you're wrong, but because you are

40:05 who you are representing, and now that you've become so big, did you ever think that, you know,

40:10 that you would do something that they will mock you on Saturday night live? I mean, dude, that's

40:15 how big you can get. I appreciate you, man. You know what? I love my man, Corbett for years,

40:23 man. I appreciate you saying all those things. Thank you so much. You know, you're my brother.

40:26 I love you to death, but I got to tell you, man, it just, I've been blessed, you know,

40:31 I don't take it for granted. I work hard, you know, through the, you know, through the grace

40:35 of the God I've been in this position and been placed in this position to make a difference.

40:41 And to me, that's what I strive to do, to be honest with you. Yeah, I talk sports, but I use

40:45 sports as a conduit to talk about a multitude of other things that are far more important than the

40:50 world of sports, to be honest with you. And it really opened the gateways to others on the come

40:56 up doing the same thing. And, you know, I may not have a cause to feel this way. I mean, who am I?

41:01 But when I see these players and I see a lot of these youngsters like Cameron and Mesa, you know,

41:08 here in Vegas and, you know, they doing it, but, you know, I'm proud of them. But when I see

41:13 young cats want to come up doing stuff and when they give me love, it's one of the greatest honors

41:20 that I feel because, you know what, if you're not creating opportunities for other people

41:24 and you all about yourself, what have you really accomplished? There's no success without

41:29 successors. And to me, to have these youngsters, you know, whether you are a baller or former

41:35 baller, whether you are somebody from the hip hop genre or wherever else for cats to look at me and

41:42 say, yo, man, you inspired me to do this, man, you set the stage, you set the way for us.

41:46 It's what I strive to do. And so the fact that I've been successful in doing that and people

41:53 are noticing that and giving me those that props and that level of recognition is really humbling

41:58 and it touches my heart because it was one of my objectives. And it's really nice to see it all

42:03 come into fruition and a lot of voices out there coming from our community to make sure that they're

42:09 expressing our perspective and forcing corporate America and beyond to embrace it by letting them

42:15 know we're not going away, we're not going anywhere. It's just a testament to our resolve

42:20 as a people and what we bring to the table and it's something that makes me very proud and very

42:24 happy to be associated with. Well, thank you, my brother. That really, really resonates with me,

42:30 man. Appreciate it. I've been on the South Beach about six, seven seasons now. And man,

42:33 that means a lot, man, honestly, coming from you. And this is a very special day for me,

42:38 man, if I'm being completely honest. So I've watched growing up that everything you just

42:43 said, man, it means a whole lot to me and to the rest of the culture for sure. One hundred percent.

42:47 I appreciate it, man. Thank you. All right. This episode of the National Podcast.

42:52 He is Stephen A. Smith, Seth MacMahon. I'm Joe Swaye-Puvo, we'll check you guys out next week.

42:58 And who knows who we'll have next, man. Appreciate it. Once again,

43:01 thank you, Stephen A. Smith. I will see you guys next week.

43:05 [Music]

Stephen A. Smith Interview: Celtics Are Title FAVORITES | Cedric Maxwell Celtics Podcast

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