“You say I’m yapping when I’ve got all this information in front of me?” Known for putting out opinions that often get him into hot water, Stephen A. Smith made one such claim about Lonzo Ball. A couple of months before he went viral about his take on Jaylen Brown, the ESPN sportscaster spoke strongly about the Bulls star’s injury, stating that he “heard it’s even hard for [Ball] to get up from a sitting position” after continuing his recovery from multiple knee surgeries.

The Bulls player responded, and so did Smith, igniting signs of a ‘feud.’ Now, with the player’s return to the court, the attention is unintentionally back on the television personality. The Chicago side’s recent preseason matchup against the Wolves saw Lonzo Ball playing again after a staggering 1006-day gap…

Amidst the applause and flowers from the community over at the United Center, the hooper has dropped 10 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist within 15 minutes. From not being able to “get up from a sitting position” to scoring in a limited time frame, this past year seems to have made a big difference. As a result, NBA fans are not choosing to let Stephen A. Smith forget his remarks.

Explained: Lonzo Ball-Stephen A. Smith beef + fans’ humbling reminder to ESPN veteran about Bulls star’s return

One social media user didn’t choose to play around with words, and outright stated, “I’m gonna need Stephen A. Smith to send out the biggest apology to Lonzo Ball asap… immediately.”

Lonzo Ball got upset with Stephen A. Smith for the same reason that Jaylen Brown would also use a couple of months later. Along with the critique that was directed towards the hooper, the Bulls star may have felt offended that Smith did not choose to take personal responsibility and that it was his ‘sources’ that had told the ESPN host about his struggle to “even get up from the sitting position.”

As a result, in the video Ball put out to Smith’s response, he straightforwardly asked, “Stephen A., who are your sources, bro?” In a later interview with NBC Chicago, he went on to state, “I just don’t appreciate when people put out fake news like that, especially someone of his stature that can touch a lot of people.” As a result, the cry for an apology continues, by NBA fans even a year later.

Other social media users chose to walk on the same path as the above-mentioned commenter. When Stephen A. Smith put out a request on X to his fans to “Send good tweets for me to answer please”, one of them responded back with a “Apologize to Lonzo Ball.”

With 5:33 minutes remaining in the first quarter, Lonzo Ball was captured standing on the edge of the court. Being defended by several Wolves players caused Nikola Vucevic to pass the ball to Lonzo, and the 26-year-old leaped and dropped an efficient 3-pointer, igniting cheers from the United Center crowd. After a clip capturing the moment went viral, one individual used it as a means to criticize the sportscaster, stating, “@stephenasmith I thought you said lonzo was lying.”

This was a big reference to how, in his initial critique, Smith had said, “Something went wrong in terms of these procedures that he has had. I don’t think he’ll ever be the same based off of what we’re seeing and hearing.”

While the now 57-year-old may have said this with good intentions, the remark highlighted the sportscaster’s true opinion on how limited the player might be able to progress. If the recent matchup was any indication, it is that the point guard has found his old spark.

It’s not every day that a player might get a standing ovation from the entire crowd over at the United Center. However, as Lonzo Ball entered the court, took his place on the sideline, and waited for the announcer to make his presence known, the attendees whistled and applauded while standing. The player’s absence seemed to have gotten to Bulls fans.

Highlighting the moment through a retweet, a user wrote, “I know a certain @FirstTake host named @stephenasmith feels like a fool!” This was still comparatively nice to another comment, “STEPHEN A SMITH YOU ABSOLUTE B– HAHAHA LONZO LFG.”

Overall, the reactions were quite negative towards Stephen A. Smith. Since the community has chosen to not forget the incident, the sportscaster may touch upon Lonzo Ball’s return in one of his upcoming segments on his YouTube show. If not, the comments section will still end up getting bombarded with the Bulls player’s epic comeback videos and reviews. Thoughts?