Fact Check: Did Shai Gilgeous Alexander Disrespect Paul George? Stephen A. Smith’s Crazy Rant Gets Exposed Online

The Oklahoma City Thunder are having a great season. Currently in the conference semifinals for the first time since 2015-16, the team is leading 1-0 against the Dallas Mavericks. As the franchise continues to hold attention and make news, more so, with the approaching off-season, the instance seems to have led analyst Stephen A Smith who rates Shai-Gilgeous Alexander highly, into the trap of a fake tweet.

The tweet centered around Paul George’s trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the LA Clippers. The trade package received by the OKC Thunder was considered one of the best packages for rebuilding the Thunder. It granted Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and future draft picks.

Things went awry later. Stephen A Smith, during an episode of ESPN, seemingly furious about the parody tweet, said “The Brother put up this tweet. Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, and six different first-round picks.” He further added, “The opposition who is in playoffs, I mean literally you got a young star calling you out that you gave me up along with all that for what you got.” Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added fuel to rumors by adding an Instagram story related to it.

But turns out, the tweet was entirely fake. It was made by NBACentel, who has a reputation for posting fictional content, including parody tweets, highlighting the significance of easily spread misinformation. Unfortunately, this time Smith and even ESPN failed to verify the tweet before using it on air.

The actual trade and setting of records

The actual trade deal between the Clippers and OKC Thunder sent Paul George to the Clippers. Thunder received Paul Gallinari & 5 unprotected first-round picks from the Clippers in years 2022, 2024, 2026, and 2028 alongside the Miami Heat’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick. The Clippers also included the right to swap first-round picks in 2023 and 2025. The confusion arose because the Thunder did indeed use the 12th pick in the 2022 draft to select Jalen Williams. But the Clippers are yet to use the 2023 & 2025 swapping rights. And the Thunder have a huge amount of draft picks left.

Shai’s Instagram story wasn’t a jab at Paul George. It was more likely a reference to a Trade the Thunders acquired. And we can associate the reaction of Shai to the shock of the fake tweet. The Clippers gave up a lot of things to acquire the services of Paul George, who was considered an All-Star at the time and also a playoff performer. On the other hand, the Thunder was going through a rebuilding phase after Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook left them.

Stephen A Smith’s rant entertained a lot of fans. But it also presented us with the danger of jumping to conclusions without verifying the information.