Stephen A. Smith’s ESPN colleague scolds him for using ‘barbershop hearsay’ on Steph Curry

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recently relayed a controversial take that an anonymous Hall of Famer shared with him regarding how Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry would have fared in an earlier era of the NBA.

Smith said he was told by the anonymous individual that Curry would’ve averaged no more than 17 points per game if he’d played in the Hall of Famer’s era, seemingly due in large part to the amount of physicality that folks played with back in the day.

In light of Smith revealing the Hall of Famer’s comments, former NBA guard Jay Williams — who also works at ESPN — challenged Smith on social media.

“Stephen A …. you’re too smart to keep pushing barbershop hearsay like it’s fact,” Williams wrote on X.

“‘A Hall of Famer told me Steph wouldn’t average more than 17’? C’mon. Name names or don’t bring it to the table.

“Steph Curry broke basketball. He didn’t just adapt to this era — he created it.

“So let’s stop using anonymous ghosts of the past to discredit the present.”

Curry’s scoring performance in Golden State’s most recent game against the Memphis Grizzlies was quite memorable. He dropped 52 points and nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and eight assists. On the defensive end, he had five steals and one block.

His scoring outburst came in textbook Curry fashion, as he drilled 12 shots from deep. That style of scoring, of course, is something that was nowhere to be seen (or rarely seen) in some older NBA eras.

Regardless of what view folks want to have about how Curry would’ve fared in previous generations of the NBA, what’s not up for debate is that he’s been one of the best players of his generation. With Curry in the fold, Golden State has won four NBA titles, with its most recent championship coming back in 2022.

The Warriors might have another deep playoff run in them this season as well. Golden State has been clicking on all cylinders ever since it traded for forward Jimmy Butler ahead of the deadline, and the No. 3 seed in the West is within reach for the Warriors.

They’re just two games back of the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers — who are led by guard Luka Doncic and forward LeBron James — and have seven contests left on their regular-season slate.