In some ways, ESPN’s NBA Finals coverage has made more headlines than the games themselves.
Take Wednesday’s awkward moment between Stephen A. Smith and Paul George, when the “First Take” personality made a dig at the Clippers star’s teammate, Kawhi Leonard, ahead of the Celtics’ 106-99 Game 3 win over the Mavericks.
“Nobody on the planet knows what it’s like to play without a star [more] than Paul George. I’ll leave it at that,” Smith said while jokingly looking away.
A smiling George repeated, “Don’t do that,” while wagging his finger at Smith.
“This is what he does,” fellow panelist — and ex-Warriors general manager — Bob Myers replied, seemingly referring to Smith’s instigation with current players.
The shade toward Leonard, 32, appears to stem from the Clippers forward’s availability.
Since the 2019-20 season — when George and Leonard both arrived in L.A. — George has played in 263 of a possible 410 contests while Leonard’s count stands at 229.
Leonard played in two of the Clippers’ first-round games against the Mavericks, with the fourth-seeded Los Angeles losing to No. 5 seed Dallas in six.
He was available in 68 of 82 games this year, averaging 23.7 points per game in an All-Star season, after suiting up for 52 in 2022-23.
Leonard was sidelined for all of the 2021-22 season with a torn ACL.
Smith’s comment Wednesday was in the context of the Celtics being down power forward Kristaps Porzingis, who missed Game 3 due to a “rare” leg injury.
Porzingis’ absence didn’t have much of a consequence on the game as the Celtics continued to steamroll the Mavericks, courtesy of a combined 61 points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Wednesday also served as George’s debut as a Finals analyst.
He’ll rejoin ESPN’s team Friday when the Celtics could potentially close out the series and secure their 18th NBA championship.