Stephen A. Smith strongly responded to Daryl Morey upon hearing the Philadelphia 76ers’ President’s recent comments about the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have not seen much postseason success recently and last won an NBA championship in 2020.
While several members of their championship-winning roster, such as LeBron James, believe that the challenges of playing in the Orlando “Bubble” made their championship push one of the most challenging runs ever, several critics dismissed the Lakers’ accomplishment by claiming that their 2020 title will always have an asterisk attached to it.
After Morey implied the same during a recent interview, Smith, an NBA analyst and television personality, went on air to call out Morey for his statements.
Stephen A. Smith Calls Daryl Morey’s Statement About the Lakers “Foul”
The bubble playoffs occurred following the 2019-2020 season. Fans will remember that the COVID pandemic was at its breakout point and forced the league to suspend its season. The NBA decided to shorten the season by ten games and concluded with a postseason that took place in the bubble.
While Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat made it to the Finals, they lost to James and the Lakers in six games. This allowed the Lakers to win the title in their first season after acquiring Anthony Davis.
Since the bubble had no home games or road games and no fans were present in the arena, some believe that this championship does not hold much weight when compared to the rest. Morey appears to feel the same way and shared his thoughts during an interview with The Athletic. He said:
“Yet, everyone I speak to around the league privately agrees that it doesn’t truly hold up as a genuine championship. Perhaps the lasting legacy of the NBA bubble is that the NBA should be proud of its leadership at both the beginning and end of the pandemic, even though the champion will forever be marked by an asterisk.”
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In response to Morey’s statement, Smith credited the Lakers for entertaining NBA fans during a crisis and attacked the 76ers’ President for criticizing the Lakers when he has always been “sensitive” to criticism.
“I think they’re very foul. I think that he’s even wrong for bringing it up. First of all, it’s legitimate when you consider the time that we were living in. What they gave us. The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis and those guys, we can never express more gratitude than what they gave us. What Jimmy Butler gave us as a member of the Miami Heat, and how he pushed them to that limit. There were people that didn’t want to be in the bubble. That is true,” he explained.
“You were [with the Rockets] for 13 years and didn’t win a title… and didn’t get to the Finals… it is something critics would argue you’ve been allergic to.”
Stephen A. Smith on Daryl Morey’s comments about the Lakers’ 2020 title in the bubble 🗣️pic.twitter.com/JKZNG7VzvW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 31, 2025
The NBA media personality then targeted Morey for his past failures: “Had we won a title in Houston? Stop right there. You were there for 13 years. You were there for 13 years and didn’t get to the Finals, and you’ve been in Philadelphia, and their behinds are going so backwards, badly so backward, that people are wondering if you’re trying to qualify for the G League half the time.”
Morey was the Rockets’ GM from 2007-2020 and was pivotal in bringing over James Harden from the OKC Thunder. Led by a prime Harden, the Rockets went toe to toe with the Warriors for multiple seasons but always fell short and failed to make the Finals.
In any case, Smith thinks that Morey’s comments were foul and that he should have never criticized the Lakers’ 2020 title run. Fans are left debating over Morey’s statements and whether they are valid.