"Walking into arenas like a HOFer": NBA Fans ridicule Stephen A. Smith's all-pink suit tunnel entrance

ESPN Analyst Stephen A. Smith made a tunnel entrance into Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden wearing an all-pink/lilac suit on Thursday. Reacting to the footage of his entrance, NBA fans ridiculed Smith for showing up to the finale stage with the ensemble:

"N***a stay walking into these arenas like he a HOFer who use to put up 25 & 10 back in the day lmao," a fan tweeted.

"Bro acting like this finals is about him!!," one fan tweeted.

"Stephen A walks like he’s about to suit up 😂," another fan tweeted.

"He looks like a pastor prepared to give a fire sermon for Easter Sunday," one fan tweeted.

"Bruh walking around like he got the assignment of guarding Luka or something 😂😂," a fan tweeted.

"Yep, walking like he the captain of both teams 😂," a fan tweeted.

"That man didn’t play one second in the league & he’s walking out like he runs it 😂😂," another fan tweeted.

Stephen A. Smith previously predicted the Boston Celtics to clinch the championship before the start of the postseason. Smith enforced his belief that Celtics' star Jayson Tatum would step up for the team when it counted while speaking on "First Take":

"I think Boston's going to win the championship," Stephen A. said. "[Jayson Tatum] has something to prove. I just believe in his greatness and his character. I believe that Jayson Tatum is a superstar in this league who has struggled in moments but I have also seen him have big moments in big moments."

Stephen A.'s prediction is one step closer to fruition after the Celtics clinched a 107-89 win against the Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.

Stephen A. Smith comments on his viral NBA Finals Game 1 entrance

While discussing his viral tunnel walk to the NBA Finals Game 1 on ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith's co-hosts Molly Qerim and Andraya Carter quipped about his entrance. Smith defended himself by hushing the comments and highlighted that he looked good in the ensemble.

"That's a good-looking brother right there," Smith said while pointing to the footage of his tunnel entrance.

Stephen A. Smith is ESPN's highest-paid employee with an annual salary of approximately $12 million and a production contract worth $4 million. He signed a five-year contract extension with ESPN in 2019 and is anticipated to negotiate a better deal when the contract expires this year.