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Stephen A. Smith has been vocal about being a New York Knicks fan, even as a journalist for ESPN. The sports television personality recently fumed on his podcast about the time Phil Jackson was the Knick's president.
Jackson is one of the biggest winners in the history of the NBA, but some forget that his short tenure as the New York Knicks GM from 2014-17 was quite bland.
In his podcast, Smith was entertaining questions from callers. One fan asked if he would choose Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra over Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr. Smith shared his thoughts on the question, saying:
"If you are gonna throw shade on Steve Kerr, you gotta throw shade on Phil Jackson and I ain't throwing any shade on the 11-time champion. That's Phil Jackson who won six with Chicago and five with LA. He's Phil Jackson," said Smith.
Smith said that he can't help but despise Jackson's tenure as an executive with the New York Knicks. However, he showed respect for Jackson's success as a coach.
"Now, I despise him as an executive. He should be banned from the city of New York with the job he did with the Knicks but as a coach, he is an All-Timer. There is no denying it."
WATCH: The Stephen A. Smith Show: July 10, 2023
Stephen A. Smith defends Steve Kerr's success in Golden State
After a caller in the show asked Smith to pick between Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr over who he prefers as a coach, the outspoken host of ESPN's First Take was quick to defend the Warriors mentor.
"How am I going to take anybody off of Steve Kerr. If you are going to throw shade on Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson didn't have Kobe or Jordan, he had them both... and Shaq... and Pippen... and Rodman... and Gasol," stressed Smith. "Steve Kerr is one of the top coaches in the history of basketball and I watched this man make adjustment after adjustment after adjustment to peel out the greatness on his team."
Kerr led the Golden State Warriors to four NBA championships and five NBA Finals appearances. In 2016, he was named NBA coach of the year and was also hailed as top 15 Coaches in NBA History.
