Stephen A. Smith isn't exactly covering himself in much glory as of late, and his latest remarks have only gone on and drawn even more criticism towards himself. While criticizing New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson isn't something that's unique to Smith, it's the way he used Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant in his argument that boggles the mind.
Speaking on ESPN's First Take, Smith called out Williamson and his superstar status and said that he was undeserving of such regard since he was rarely available to play due to injury, while saying that Morant is reliable in comparison. This is blatantly false; in fact, over the past three seasons, Williamson has played in more games (116) than Morant has (112).
“Even though you're a superstar caliber talent, you're not a superstar because you're almost never available. … For all of his troubles, Ja Morant, you can rely on him. And that hasn't been the case for Zion,” Smith said, via the official ClutchPoints account on X (formerly Twitter).
https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1899845596954955814
There is indeed some justification in pumping the brakes on the superstar hype surrounding a player if they cannot be consistently available for their team. While Williamson's talent cannot be questioned, there's a reason the Pelicans have not been a consistent playoff team with him as their franchise cornerstone, considering how many games he's missed in his career.
Moreover, just last season, Williamson sustained a hamstring injury right before the playoffs — the worst possible time. The Pelicans were promptly swept in the first round of the playoffs against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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But Smith may want to double check his argument next time; Morant's reliability hasn't been at its best the past two seasons, and this year, he's also been dealing with a shoulder injury, limiting him to just 42 games thus far this season.
Dissecting the Ja Morant-Zion Williamson argument even further
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks to pass the ball as he is boxed in the corner by New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) and forward Herbert Jones (5) during the first half at the Smoothie King Center.
© Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Stephen A. Smith's point about reliability may not just be limited to the number of games the player suits up in for their respective teams. Smith can point towards the fact that the Grizzlies have been performing well whenever Morant isn't as limited as he was during the 2023-24 campaign.
Morant has been a more transformative presence for the Grizzlies in his six years with the team to this point, and it's not like he's dealt with as many nagging injuries throughout his career as Williamson has. The more volatile part of having Morant as the team's superstar is his off-court troubles, although he seems to have put those in the rearview mirror.