Stephen A. Smith recently found himself at the mercy of internet trolls following his comments on Lonzo Ball. The Chicago Bulls star hasn’t been actively playing basketball since the beginning of 2022. For Bulls fans, this is quite concerning as they missed out on a potentially deep playoff run last season and playoffs as a whole this past season.
The ESPN legend earlier made a comment saying, “I don’t think he’ll ever be the same… I’ve heard that it’s even hard for him to get up from the sitting position… I’m really, really sad for him.” Smith made it very clear that he was coming from a place of concern. However, Ball caught onto the fact that Smith’s sources claimed he couldn’t get off a chair. The Bulls’ point guard came back with a hilarious response on social media.
@stephenasmith come to the actual source next time. I’m not hard to reach pic.twitter.com/88xyoB7LTf
— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) August 22, 2023
Lonzo placed a chair poolside and began doing single-legged squats indicating that Stephen A. Smith’s sources were wrong. He said, “Stephen A, who are your sources, bro? Please tell me who your sources are. Come on, man. Come on, man. You gotta stop yapping. And I actually like you, man. I don’t even know you like that, but I like you. I’m coming back, man. Come on.” This had fans trolling Smith for stating incorrect facts as Ball was clearly able to get up from his chair.
Lonzo Ball missed 129 Bulls games since his injury
Lonzo Ball got injured 35 games into the 2021-22 season with the Bulls. Before his injury, Chicago held the No.1 spot in the Eastern Conference which was a very good sign that his presence is effective. Ball also transitioned into a consistent shooter with exceptional defensive capabilities. However, Stephen A. Smith did not pay heed to Ball’s response. He believed it did not justify that he wasn’t healthy enough to play 35 minutes every other day.
Smith said, “You really going to sit poolside on the bench and think because you getting up and sitting down… that makes you healthy? … Bro, you ain’t healthy.” He added, “Don’t you have the stats? Don’t you know how many games he’s missed?… Bro, you ain’t healthy. You’ve missed about 48% of your games. And you’re only four years into your career.” The analyst’s comments were mainly directed at fans who made fun of him following Lonzo’s response.
“You really going to sit poolside on the bench and think because you getting up and sitting down… that makes you healthy? … Bro, you ain’t healthy.”
Stephen A. Smith claps back at Lonzo Ball and Twitter trolls on First Take 🗣pic.twitter.com/VYdc9Aui6i
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 23, 2023
Stephen A. Smith pointed out that Lonzo Ball has missed a significant amount of games due to injuries. Ever since tearing his meniscus last season, Ball missed 129 games. In addition to missing the entirety of last season, the Bulls announced that he will mostly sit out during their 2023-24 stint as well. Ball had to go through surgery to fix his injury last season and seems fairly comfortable moving around.
