The long-standing tension between Stephen A. Smith and the New Orleans Pelicans, specifically star forward Zion Williamson, has carried into the 2025-26 season.
Smith, known for his outspoken NBA opinions and rants on ESPN, has previously targeted Williamson’s weight, including comments about "how many burgers he’s eating" and claims that he has spoken to Pelicans sources about the former No. 1 overall pick’s eating habits.
After Williamson recently opened up about the lowest points of his career, including injuries and criticism over his weight, the feud between Smith and the Pelicans reignited. New Orleans' social media team trolled the ESPN star with a post on Tuesday, and the next morning, Smith went on First Take, claiming, "My popularity is bigger than anybody on your team outside of Zion."
With the history between Williamson and Smith growing, even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James reportedly offered some Smith-related advice to the Pelicans forward after a recent matchup.
Here’s what to know about Smith’s history of criticizing Williamson’s weight, his feud with the Pelicans, and more.
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Zion Williamson-Stephen A Smith beef
The Williamson-Smith situation goes back years, as ESPN’s lead NBA personality has repeatedly commented on Williamson’s weight. In 2024, Smith remarked on "how many burgers" Williamson was eating, saying the forward needed to prove he was committed to staying in shape.
Smith also made previous food jokes about Williams while on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," per Awful Announcing.
“His affliction is food. He can’t stop eating. How would I know this? Could it be because chefs in New Orleans love him? That could be one reason. That’s what I’ve heard,” Smith said, per Awful Announcing. “Could it be that New Orleans is one of the best cities in America if not the best city in America when it comes to restaurants and food? Sure. But the ultimate evidence was his belly.”
Williamson, who has admitted to previous dieting struggles, has also dealt with various injuries in his NBA career, but he's remained as healthy as ever in 2025-26.
In a recent sit-down interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews, Williamson spoke about the most difficult point in his career, struggling with injuries and criticism. He did not mention Smith, but it was clear he was talking about personalities such as the ESPN star, who had amplified public concerns over Williamson's weight.
"There was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game," Williamson said. "I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball."
"The most difficult point was when I missed my third year with a broken foot. ... There was a lot of criticism on my weight, my care for the game. ... I was really low because I just wanted to play basketball."
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson on the most difficult point during… pic.twitter.com/tf9CnsZ3VX
— ESPN (@espn) March 2, 2026
In the aftermath of that interview, Smith responded by saying on "First Take" that he was "happy" for Williamson, but added that the information he had previously shared about concerns over Williamson's weight came from inside the Pelicans organization.
Smith suggested that there were people close to Williamson who "encouraged" he and others to publicly criticize the star's eating habits.
"The information that emanated about Zion Williamson, yeah, it came from inside the organization. It came from people even closer than that to Zion Williamson, I’m gonna leave it at that," Smith said. "People that called up and encouraged us to get in his a-- because of some of the things that he was doing. You got people that are alcoholics, you got people that are drug addicts and stuff like that. What was Zion’s problem? Food! Food addict!"
"The joke was everybody in New Orleans that cooked, it could be everybody from a restaurant, a chef, to your grandmama. Everybody that cooked knew about Zion Williamson. And he knew them! They were on a first-name basis. Cause that brother ate a lot! You even have rumors, and literally, I’m here thinking it was a joke, and somebody told me to go on the air and point out how he got busted hiding food under his bed. This is the kind of stuff that was happening."
"You got people that are alcoholics, you got people that are drug addicts and stuff like that. What was Zion’s problem? Food! Food addict!" - Stephen A. Smith responds to Zion Williamson pic.twitter.com/5TdvA4FZPR
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 3, 2026
Later in the day on Tuesday, the Pelicans' social media reposted a 2024 video it had shared of Smith, a compilation of him shooting a basketball, throwing a baseball and more, trolling his athletic abilities.
"Stick to solitaire Stephen," the caption said.
Stick to solitaire Stephen pic.twitter.com/1hBtJThJdx
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 3, 2026
Smith first replied on X, writing that the team "asked for" what he would say on "First Take" the following day.
Pulling out stuff from a decade, two decades, three decades ago, ???? No problem. See y’all tomorrow on @FirstTake. Remember one thing: YOU ASKED FOR THiS!!!!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 3, 2026
On Wednesday, Smith then went on a rant about the Pelicans franchise, saying he's more popular than anybody on their team outside of Williamson, calling the team "trash."
"Nearly 65 games have been played and you’re still searching for your 20th victory. Y'all are horrible! You've been horrible," Smith said. "Worth about 3.55 billion right now. That ranks 29th out of 30 teams in the NBA. ... This is your 24th year in the NBA. You used to be the Hornets, now you’re the Pelicans, that’s two nicknames. That’s how many playoff series victories you have."
"But you've got the time to clap back at me. Well, if you're gonna do that, at least tell America why. It's the only thing that can make you relevant."
The response you've been waiting for 👀
—@stephenasmith responds to the Pelicans social media video of him ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YBbSSdr9tX
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 4, 2026
MORE:Stephen A. Smith's history of comments about Zion Williamson's weight
What did LeBron James say about Zion Williamson?
On Tuesday night, the Pelicans faced the Lakers in Los Angeles, with LeBron James and Zion Williamson taking the floor. After the Lakers' 110-101 win, James was seek talking to Williamson.
James, who has been critical of Smith in the past due to comments about his son Bronny James, could be heard saying something similar to, "F--- all that other bulls--- about Stephen A.”
pic.twitter.com/G6WbZcI85f
— Moonball (@moonball30) March 4, 2026
Has Zion Williamson lost any weight?
Williamson has steadily showed off weight loss over the last few NBA seasons. Coming into the 2025-26 season, he said he "felt a shift" in his physical health, and he hadn't "felt like this since college [or] high school."
The Pelicans star said the team's executive vice president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, helped keep him accountable with his conditioning, including boxing, working out on football fields and more.
Zion won me back in like 14 seconds. I’m back!!! pic.twitter.com/xrOChxIwuM
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 23, 2025
The result has been a bounce-back season for Williamson, as he's appeared in 46 of the Pelicans' 63 games after appearing in just 30 last season. So far in 2025-26, he's averaged 21.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
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Is Zion the heaviest NBA player?
No, Williamson is not the heaviest player in the league. He has been listed at 284 pounds by NBA.com, but in February 2025, ESPN's Michael Wright reported that the New Orleans star weighed around 264 pounds, the lightest since he had been drafted.
The heaviest listed NBA player at the time is Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey, who is listed at 305 pounds while standing at 7-foot-3.
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