As it turns out, there are some shows that Stephen A. Smith is willing to remove from his workload.
On Monday, ESPN officially announced its “new-look” NBA Countdown team, which will make its debut on Wednesday night. But while the release focused on the studio show’s new cast, with Kendrick Perkins, Michael Malone, Brian Windhorst and Shams Charania joining host Malika Andrews, it was perhaps the absence of Smith’s name that stood out the most.
After all, the First Take star first joined NBA Countdown — then called NBA Shootaround — in 2003 and has been a staple of the current version of the show since 2021. Yet despite some outlets framing Smith no longer being a part of the studio show as a surprise and/or demotion, the move has widely been expected ever since he signed his new $105 million contract with ESPN earlier this year.
In reporting on the 58-year-old’s new contract in March, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wrote, “Smith will not be a regular on ESPN’s premiere NBA pregame show anymore, though he could still make occasional appearances on top basketball studio programs, as well as the Monday Night Football pregame or during other big time events.” Eight months later, his removal from the NBA Countdown cast is now official, although it seems likely he will still make cameos throughout the regular season.
In many ways, Smith’s departure from ESPN’s NBA studio show is academic, both for the network and its highest paid star. Having added multiple SiriusXM radio shows to weekly schedule, it only seemed like a matter of time until Smith reduced his output elsewhere. Meanwhile, NBA Countdown is no longer ESPN’s top NBA studio show thanks to the Disney-owned channel’s licensing agreement with TNT Sports’ Inside the NBA.
Considering their respective situations, it makes sense for both parties that Stephen A. Smith is no longer a full-time part of NBA Countdown. Still, even if it was expected, it was admittedly jarring to see a release in which he was being removed from a show as opposed to joining it.