"Racism...this is disgusting": Fans lambast Stephen A Smith for 'disrespectful' take on Luka Doncic's historic night

ESPN sports analyst Stephen A. Smith drew heat from NBA fans on social media for what they deemed to be an outright disregard of Luka Doncic’s historic 73-point night against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Many viewed his take as misguided, with some claiming that it's a race issue.

On NBA Countdown on Saturday, Smith spoke about Doncic’s scoring spree in the Dallas Mavericks’ 148-143 victory over the Hawks. He said that he was not sold on it, as Atlanta did not play good defense on the Slovenian superstar.

Smith claimed it was not comparable to what reigning league MVP Joel Embiid did when he scored 70 points against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in their 133-123 victory on Monday.

“Let’s not go overboard with this," said Smith. "The fans want this? No. The league wanted it… They say it is because of the fans… The fans did not want to see what happened in Atlanta. Did you see that? … Did you see how the Hawks played defense last night? … What happened in Atlanta was disgraceful…”

Fans picked up what Smith said and tweeted their thoughts. Below are some of their takes:

"Racism.. this is disgusting"

"We all know why they don’t give Luka credit. Let’s just keep it real," said another.

Here are some of the other reactions on X:

"You are disgusting @stephenasmith - where was this over Joel? You are clearly being racist"

"Such a bad Luka take by SAS. Even his co hosts were looking around like wut?"

"This is disgusting"

"Mannnnnnnnnnn..they really just man a white dude is capable of doing this..lol..the narrative is sad actually..what more does Luka need to show u that offensively he’s the best player in the league lol..no one can stop him"

"They hate white boys that can ball"

"It is making their Embiid 2nd MVP narrative shaky, and they don't like it"

"Racism at its finest. Call a spade a Spade.. They only got smoke for Luka and Jokic. I wonder why.."

"stephenasmith watched 2 clips of layups & got on national tv to discredit one of the best & most efficient games in history while giving credit to players who were playing selfishly according to their own coach.Clown gets paid for this. Watch the damn game & appreciate greatness"

Another said:

"This is honestly just straight up disrespectful"

Luka Doncic shoots way into NBA record books with 73-point performance

Doncic shot his way into NBA folklore with his 73-point explosion against the Atlanta Hawks in a road game on Friday. He tied the fourth-most points scored in a game in league history. His 73 tied him with NBA legends Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson.

The output is only topped by the 78 of Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia/1961), 81 of Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers/2006) and 100 of Chamberlain (Philadelphia/1962).

Also, Luka Doncic joined nine others in league history to have scored 70 points or more, along with Chamberlain, Bryant, Thompson, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, David Robinson, Elgin Baylor, Joel Embiid, and Devin Booker.

He also set a Mavericks franchise record for points scored. His 73 bested the previous record of 60 that he himself set on Dec. 27, 2022, against the New York Knicks.

He had previously scored the third-highest points in franchise history with 53 almost a year ago against the Detroit Pistons, tied with Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki. Luka Doncic is in just his sixth year with the Mavericks.