The Pelicans Told Stephen A. Smith To "Stick To Solitaire." Here's His Response

In the wake of Stephen A. Smith’s rant against Zion Williamson on “First Take,” the New Orleans Pelicans came to the defense of their franchise player. Putting together a montage of Smith’s slip-ups while playing various sports, the Pelicans’ social media team sent a short but savage message to the ESPN personality: “Stick to solitaire, Stephen.”

SAS tweeted back: “See y’all tomorrow on First Take.” Sure enough, he directed his vitriol at the Pelicans organization the very next day.

“My popularity is more than anybody you got on your team outside of Zion Williamson,” Smith said, almost whispering the words as if to threaten the $3.5 billion NBA franchise. “Why am I bringing up all these facts, New Orleans Pelicans? Because you can’t. About you.”

Smith went on to pull out more facts to weaponize against Williamson’s squad. “This is your 24th year in the NBA. You used to be the Hornets, and now you’re the Pelicans. That’s two nicknames. That’s how many playoff series victories you have…two in 24 years! Damn.”

Anything else, SAS? “Just this past month, you clinched your 15th losing season…In 24 years, you’ve had one season of winning 50 or more games. One. One! That’s it. I’m not finished. Nine playoff berths in 24 years…you’ve never been to a conference finals. That means you’ve never been to an NBA Finals in franchise history.”

All of the verbal barbs launched by Smith are well documented, but it’s important to recall why he’s firing them off in the first place. In an interview with Malika Andrews earlier this week, Williamson had commented that it was “frustrating” to hear the media question his “care for the game” while he recovered from a broken foot a few years ago.

Apparently incensed by the insinuation that the criticism was invalid, Smith delivered a response Tuesday morning, calling Williamson a “food addict” and claiming that people within the Pelicans organization fed him intel for his past critiques.

It was the “food addict” tirade that triggered the Pelicans to post, among other things, a clip of Smith shooting an airball inside a gym. The Pelicans deserve props after they stood up for their main man, but it just so happens that their opponent in this war of words has the platform of national television.

“I can shoot,” Smith insisted. “But I don’t get paid to do that. I get paid to do this. Stephen A. Smith, commentator on ESPN.”