“Go check the stats baby”: Stephen A. Smith stunningly claims he gets 95% of his predictions right

Stephen A. Smith has earned a reputation for dishing out the hot takes throughout his career as an ESPN personality. Over the years, Smith has both given out the hot takes and pushed back on hot takes from colleagues who have sat across from him on the set of First Take. With that being said, Smith's latest claim has drawn plenty of attention from fans, who have done the hard research regarding his claim.

As he stated this week in a video for GQ Sports, he has gotten about 95% of his predictions correct.

"If you're talking overall, I would tell you I'm about at 90, 93, to 95%. I don't get too much wrong. Now, there was a bad stretch. there was like five or six consecutive years where I was wrong calling the NBA Finals. For the most part, dating back to my career in 1993, go check the stats, baby. I'm usually right."

Immediately, fans began to chime in with their reactions to the comment, with some pulling up Stephen A. Smith's outrageous takes from the past. At the same time, others simply cracked jokes at the longtime reporter's expense. But was the criticism warranted?

Stephen A. Smith's 0-6 track record regarding predictions, and one of his craziest predictions from 2015

Stephen A. Smith defended himself against those whom he knew would fight back. He went on to explain that back in the day when he was working as a courtside reporter, he was spot-on with his picks.

Now, with Smith's focus being on TV rather than covering and reporting on individual games, he knows that his percentage has slipped. In addition, he was quick to address a fact that many pointed out: that he went a number of years without picking the NBA Finals correctly.

(Suggested Reading: 5 personalities Stephen A. has beefed with)

With that in mind, let's look at some of Smith's most controversial predictions over the years besides his 0-6 NBA Finals record from 2011-2017. Given the fact that picking a Finals winner comes down to 50/50 chances, Smith being wrong for six consecutive years is remarkable.

It isn't his craziest prediction, however, but his 2015 take that the Minnesota Timberwolves picking Karl-Anthony Towns over Jahlil Okafor was a mistake sure might be. As he infamously tweeted in 2015, everyone would see his side eventually.

With the upcoming NBA season approaching, expect Stephen A. Smith's picks to be put under a microscope yet again. With plenty more hot takes and predictions coming on First Take, this season should deliver a number of notable hot takes from Stephen A. Smith.