NBA analyst Kenny Smith stirred up a bit of controversy over All-Star weekend due to his commentary surrounding the three-point shooting contest between Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry and New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu.
Right after the competition, Smith suggested that Ionescu, who was shooting from the NBA’s three-point range, should have shot from the WNBA line. Smith doubled down on his stance during a Monday appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show .
Smith maintained that “it’s much ado about nothing” and that people were misunderstanding the context of his comments.
Smith stated that he never intended any disrespect to Ionescu, and that he felt that she was at a disadvantage due to the fact that Curry makes a living shooting from the NBA’s three-point line, and has thus developed superior muscle memory for shooting from that range.
“Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about. Actually, I was advocating for her, more than anything else, because basketball is muscle memory. So he practices from one range, she practices from another.