While the stage is set for the Play-in Tournament, the experts flooded in with opinions. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith pounced on it immediately with his hot take on the New Orleans Pelicans star, Zion Williamson. Despite the 23-year-old star’s impressive comeback this season, A. Smith refused to add him to the star-studded Play-in Tournament elite club consisting of Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and De’Aaron Fox.

In the latest episode of NBA Countdown, Mallika Andrews highlighted the probability of missing out on two of the four stars (Steph, James, Fox, and Zion) after the Play-In tournament. As soon as she dropped the statement, Smith leaned forward, dropping the hammer on Williamson. He said, “First of all, let’s throw Zion out of that equation.” 

The veteran analyst also disclosed his reason for that statement. He highlighted Zion Williamson’s failure in tonight’s crucial game and stripped him of the elite club. Smith said, “Today, with a six seed and a sure-in, in the first round of the playoffs on the line, he was a no show for crying out loud. He doesn’t get to get mentioned in the equation of LeBron James Steph Curry, De’ Aaron Fox.”

Today, Zion Williamson & Co. could grab the sixth seed with a win in the last game of their regular season. Stephen A. Smith pointed out the 23-year-old’s underwhelming show on a must-win game. Williamson dropped only 12 points with a disappointing 4-13 FG in a 124-108 loss. On the other hand, Stephen A. spoke highly of the other three stars’ efforts in the 2023 postseason.

Notably, this isn’t the first time when Smith took a dig at Zion. During the last season, the star struggled with injuries and fitness issues. He was often dragged into expert conversations and ended up getting trashed. Smith also never missed a beat to call him out. However, he compensated for it by raining praises over the star’s explosive season, averaging 22 points and 5.8 rebounds in 70 games.

Will Zion Williamson shut down his critics?

The Pelicans play their second Play-in Tournament in a row. Last season, the team failed to make it past its first knockout game. This season, they face the Los Angeles Lakers again. However, they have another game against the winners of the 9th-10th seed clash if they lose it. In the previous year, Zion Williamson couldn’t recover from his hamstring injury on time and watched his team lose the Play-in tournament.

This time, the team has him in-form and healthy. But, the question is, will he turn up his cylinders or will he end up with a “No show” like today? Considering the star’s comeback from the fitness criticism this season, the youngster can also turn up his cylinders for the team.

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On the other hand, Zion doesn’t have simple opponents. He has to either face the Warriors dynasty, the LeBron James force, or a complete Sac Town team. Speaking of the three-star-studded team, Stephen A. highlighted their previous postseason efforts and made his pick. He picked the Lakers and GSW to make it to the playoffs.

In the previous season, the Lakers managed to play in the Conference Finals after playing in the Play-in tournament. The Warriors could make it to the second round despite their underwhelming season and the Sac Town made their presence felt, reaching the third seed in the West. Who will make it to the playoffs? Let us know your pick in the comments.