NBA Analysts Worst Takes Ever: 'LeBron Is 3rd Of All-Time... I Want Iguodala... Stephen Curry Isn't A Point Guard... Predicted The Finals Wrong 6 Straight Seasons'
NBA analysts are there to professionally explain the game to fans around the world. Some people don't understand basketball at a deeper level while others feel they should be analysts on television. In either way, the most famous basketball analysts have made some ridiculous statements over the years.
By looking back at the claims made by the top analysts in North America, we have compiled the 6 most ridiculous statements made over the past 10 years. These takes are completely indefensible and by the time we get to number one, you will have a permanent facepalm.
6. Stephen A. Smith - Predicting The Finals Wrong For 6 Straight Seasons (2011-2016)
Stephen A. Smith is one of the most popular and respected NBA analysts in the world right now. His hot takes are always disputed, and let's face it, he's always entertaining. It's clear his passion is covering basketball, and it has led to a ton of controversial takes over his successful career.
But his record in picking the NBA Finals has been putrid. Smith got the Finals wrong for 6 straight seasons and was hilariously bashed for it. Smith is often proud of what he has to say, but he probably isn't this time. It is hard to predict the NBA Finals, to his defense, but to not get one correct in 6 straight years is pretty alarming for an analyst of Smith's longevity in the game.
5. Shannon Sharpe - Listing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar As The GOAT, Michael Jordan Second, LeBron Third (2017)
Anytime Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless are debating the greatest players of all time, we are always in for a show. The entire world knows who Skip is picking #1 on his list, but surely Shannon Sharpe would make a rational choice and choose Michael Jordan as #1 as well?
Of course not. In a bid to protect his hero LeBron James, Sharpe simply would not give Skip the benefit of the doubt and place Michael Jordan in his rightful place...at number one. Instead, he places Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as #1 to not give Jordan any edge over The King.
In Sharpe's mind, once LeBron retires, he would have passed Jordan at #2 with ease and sat comfortably at #1. Simply, utterly, ridiculous. But at least it gave us entertaining tv because even famed LeBron supporter Chris Broussard had to laugh over that one.
4. Pau Pierce - "Analyzing" Stephen Curry And Considering Him A Wing Player (2019)
Paul Pierce is one of the most underappreciated players in NBA history. As one of his era's best scorers and an NBA champion, Pierce was the definition of hard work and consistency as a Boston Celtics legend. But as an analyst, he leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, many regard him as the most ridiculous analyst in the industry right now.
When looking at his "analysis" of Stephen Curry, it is hard to argue against that point. Pierce famously claimed in 2019 that Stephen Curry was not a point guard, but a wing player. Even when Curry changed the NBA and became an NBA champion, it wasn't enough to convince Pierce that Curry is a 6'3" slender point guard instead of a 2-way wing player.
Anytime a player of Curry's size and skill comes along, you play him in the position to give him an advantage. At that point, he has been the best in the world for at least 6 years. Knowing Paul Pierce, he probably thinks Curry resembles him in his younger days and decided to make this ridiculous claim to pat himself on the back.
3. Colin Cowherd - Naming Ben Simmons As A Top-5 NBA Player (2018)
Colin Cowherd always speaks his mind, even when NBA players and other analysts shame him. His criticisms of Russell Westbrook were one of them for example, and not a single soul could convince Cowherd otherwise about Westbrook's inefficiencies as a player. But by far the most ridiculous statement ever made by Colin Cowherd was naming Ben Simmons as a top-5 player in the NBA.
Ben Simmons is a great player, especially on both ends of the floor. He is a naturally oversized playmaker and he might be in the running for the Defensive Player of the Year Award this year. As the sidekick to Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, Simmons has taken massive leaps as a player over the years.
But is he better than Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and even his teammate Joel Embiid? The answer is a solid no and Cowherd probably wishes he can erase that comment from people's memories.
2. Skip Bayless - Claiming Tim Tebow As A Bigger Draw Than Kobe Bryant And LeBron James (2012)
Probably the most entertaining tv moment in ESPN history was the duel between Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless on who is the biggest draw in sports. Of course, it ended up with Smith walking out on Skip Bayless and hilariously ending the segment. Out of all the asinine things Bayless has said, he never eclipsed his 2012 take on former NFL star Tim Tebow.
Skip was Tim Tebow's biggest fanboy, and it got to the point of "obsession" with him according to Stephen A. Smith. Skip's take on Tebow took another level when he (seriously) told Smith that Tebow was a bigger draw than Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant. Kobe was a 5-time NBA champion and in terms of playing the prettiest form of basketball, he did it at the highest level.
But where Skip went over the line is when he also claimed Tebow was a bigger draw than LeBron James. The King, the face of the NBA, was not a bigger draw than Tim Tebow. James won his first NBA title with the Heat and was on top of the world. But it wasn't enough to usurp arguably the luckiest NFL player ever in Tim Tebow. As crazy as Skip's take was, it didn't usurp what Max Kellerman stated 7 years later.
1. Max Kellerman - He Wants Andre Iguodala To Take The Final Shot For The Warriors….Not Curry Or Thompson (2019)
Until now, no one can come to terms with what Max Kellerman was thinking in 2019. The Golden State Warriors were a dynasty that ran the NBA for years and the heart of that was Stephen Curry. Curry is the undisputed best shooter ever, and his teammate Klay Thompson is right behind him. But Max still felt Andre Iguodala, with a career 33.3% 3-point average, is a more reliable clutch shooter than Curry and Klay. Somebody, please explain this.
Maybe he thought that since Curry doesn't have a Finals MVP, he wasn't the most dominant offensive player and shooter on the team. He probably saw that Iguodala had the Finals MVP in 2015, and that makes him more clutch. But that isn't the case. Curry is the best shooter in NBA history, draining 42.5% of his threes for his career.
No player can create his own shot from three like Curry can, and that includes defensive specialist Andre Iguodala. Not even Klay Thompson was ahead of Iguodala in Kellerman's mind, which makes his take the worst in NBA history.
Credit for idea: Hoop Colony
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