Say all you want about the Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless partnership on First Take, but there is no denying that it just clicked with the audience. But that was not the case when the latter left the network and ESPN hired Max Kellerman in 2016 to replace the veteran. At least that’s what Stephen A. believes! After sharing the screen for 5 years, Kellerman was booted from the show and 3 years after the breakup, the hoops critic blames his former co-host for his own departure while calling out NFL legend Marcellus Wiley for the part he played in the whole incident.

Diving into why the pairing with Kellerman never worked, the analyst said, “Lack of chemistry. Believe it or not, it was more his fault than mine.” Although the ratings didn’t show it, Stephen A. Smith believes that the audience had begun losing interest soon after Max arrived. When he was removed, his pal Marcellus Wiley wondered if it was because Max was “smarter” than Smith and did not want to “play the role” that he wanted.

But Stephen A. recently took a dig at Wiley saying, “Marcellus Wiley knows one side. He certainly never spoke to me about it. Never called, never asked, or anything like that.” While he understood why Wiley was defending Max as the two are great friends, Smith blamed the former NFL star for the “narrative he’s helped put out there.”

Revealing the true reason behind Kellerman’s removal, Smith claimed on the Fully Loaded podcast that his genius became his own enemy, “At some point in time you’re talking and you’re talking and you’re talking and you’re talking above the audience to the point where they find themselves asking ‘What did you just say?’” Yes, Stephen A. noticed that there was a disconnect between what Max was saying and what the audience wanted to hear. And he didn’t feel that would work in the long run.

Stephen A. Smith admitted that he DID NOT like working with Max Kellerman

Well, this is not the first time Stephen A. has addressed Kellerman’s departure from ESPN. Even last year, he admitted on The Joe Budden Podcast, “I did not like working with him.” It was mainly because Smith felt the show was getting stale and was no longer resonating with the viewers. And in his words, “I didn’t wanna go from number 1 to number 2 when Skip left.” Having been in the media business for decades, Stephen A. understands what does and doesn’t work for the fans and his pairing with Kellerman certainly did not, in his opinion.

However, he did hope for his former co-host’s return to the game, “Max Kellerman is somebody that I’m rooting for to return to this business. He’s somebody that’s nothing short of brilliant, like genius-level brilliant.” But with the First Take panel now set and Max’s history with Stephen A., it is highly unlikely that he would ever return to the same network. As for Stephen A. Smith, he still aims to become the network’s highest-paid asset as his current contract comes to an end next year. And there have been talks about a possible multi-year deal in the ball park of $25 million annually. So, the future looks bright for the veteran analyst. Who do you think was at fault for the Max Kellerman-Stephen A. Smith pairing not lasting long?