Stephen A. Smith talks Western Conference Finals, Sam Presti, and Oklahoma City’s championship potential

In an exclusive interview, Colby Thelen sat down with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith after he recorded First Take from the News 9 studio to discuss his impressions of Oklahoma City, the Thunder's performance, and the upcoming Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Q: Stephen A. Smith, welcome to Oklahoma City. What’s your impression so far?

Stephen A. Smith: First of all, I'm here in the studio. It's immaculate. The hospitality has been exceptional. I really, really appreciate everything, and I'm really, really excited about just the Eastern and the Western Conference finals and OKC and Minnesota going at one another. We're here for ESPN and ABC's NBA Countdown. So this is the kind of series that you wanted, that you waited for. And I'm happy that I'm in OKC instead of Denver for this epic encounter.

Q: What are the keys for OKC to win today and the series?

Stephen A. Smith: Well, I think first of all, they have to continue to be the piranhas that they are defensively. This is an elite defensive team. There is no denying that, and they hang their hat on that, and they played exceptional defense when it counted most against Denver, and that's why they ended up winning that series.

But offensively, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's my MVP this year—I voted for him last year, I voted for him this year, I have a vote—and I think he deserves it. And I think he will win it. He's got to show up and be an MVP because there's this dude on the other side named Anthony Edwards, a.k.a. Ant-Man, he is coming.

This is a special, special player, a special kind of competitor that is like a shark in blood-infested water. He comes for you. I think him knowing what Oklahoma City brings to the table, how formidable they are, he's the person that's going to answer the call. I think that's who he is, that's what he's made of.

So Shai needs to be that way as well. But I've often said that the key to this team's success is Jalen Williams. He showed up in Game 7, thank goodness, because I think he's an exceptional talent. I don't understand how he's disappeared on too many occasions during the playoffs. Games 4, 5, and 6, he was awful. Let's just call it what it is. He cannot afford to be that way in this series if the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to go to the NBA Finals.

So I think it's incredibly important to understand that, of course, the Chet Holmgrens, the Alex Carusos, or Isaiah Hartenstein and those guys, they gotta show up collectively, be who they are. They're a deep team, they're a young team, got a young bunch of young thoroughbreds, but to me the key is that backcourt the key is SGA and obviously Jalen Williams.

Q: You were talking about Anthony Edwards and the comparison with Shai. Where do those two stand in your mind?

Stephen A. Smith: Well, first of all, I think that, you know, for basketball aficionados, there was a guy—a scoring machine many, many years ago—whose nickname was “The Iceman,” based out of San Antonio. His name was George Gervin. I think that SGA is an elevated level of that.

He's just silky smooth. He's automatic. He's something special to behold, and his personality is phenomenal as well. Just a really cool dude, obviously a team-oriented player who has all the requisite skills and plays on both sides of the ball. He is truly worthy, in my opinion, of being the league MVP this year, and I have been saying that all year long.

But when you look at Ant-Man, the difference in their game is primarily highlighted in the difference in their personalities. Ant-Man was the leading 3-point shooter this year, hitting 323 pointers for the regular season. Ant-Man is a Skywalker whenever he wants to be. But his level of aggression, his bravado, the way that he comes after it—in my experience, covering professional sports—that it factor is never something that you can just shove aside or ignore. The person whose skill set is comparable to anybody else's, but who wants it and wants it bad.

Shai gives you the impression that Shai's just going to be a model of consistency. He's going to come with it every night, and he's going to find a way to be ultra effective.

Ant-Man is somebody that smells blood, and he's in attack mode whatever smoke is coming his way, he wants it. He invites it, it does something for him. It's like spinach did for Popeye, for crying out loud. That's what we're talking about with Ant-Man. And I believe that those are the things that ultimately propel you to victory, and that's what makes this so interesting, because I think OKC should be the favorite, but Minnesota can beat this team, and I believe this series has a Game 7 written all over it.

Q: How important is tonight’s Game 1 for Oklahoma City?

Stephen A. Smith: I think Minnesota is the one that doesn’t have to win. OKC does, in my opinion.

I don’t mean if they lose, they’ll lose the series, because I think I could see both of these teams winning a game on the other’s home court. My issue with Minnesota, or rather OKC, is that because it's Ant-Man that we're talking about, you don't want to find yourself in a hole starting off the series knowing that you're gonna have to go back to Minnesota in order to steal 1 to get back to Oklahoma City and regain homecourt advantage.

I don't think any team can afford, easily anyway, to give up whatever advantage that they have. And so I think in that regard, considering this home turf. How important it is, the rabid following that it has.

It's one thing going up against the Denver team led by one of the greatest players of our time in Nikola Jokic. But Denver didn't have the supplementary parts around. Michael Porter was injured, Aaron Gordon got injured. Russell Westbrook is not what he used to be, even though he's a future Hall of Famer. Chris Braun is a really nice player, but not that big of a difference maker in a lot of people's eyes, and they don't have the depth that they once had in Denver. Minnesota is a little bit different. And when you look at what they bring to the table, they're younger. They're better defenders.

Q: Do you think Loud City gives OKC a real edge at home?

Stephen A. Smith: It should, but again, they're relatively young, so they feed off of that adrenaline, and we get that. But if you're going against somebody that won't go away, and they're there, regardless of the noise working against them. Because they're the road team, that's something that the pressure amps up as the game wanes, and you can't get them away from you. And I think that when you look at Minnesota, that's the kind of team that they are.

They just stay in there, you know. Here you are. You're up 10, you're up 12. You're up 15. And then the next thing you know, you're only up five and it's 2 minutes left. You're up three, or it's 3 minutes left. And you're like, 'Damn, they're still here. They can win this game. They won't go away.' That's how Minnesota is, and the reason why that's interesting is it's also OKC.

They won't go away. They're there, and they're constantly lurking, looking for a moment of slippage that they can exploit and take advantage of. And when both teams are of that mindset again, that makes it for a very interesting, compelling series, which is why I think this is a pick them for a seven-game series.

Q: Critics say the Thunder are too young and inexperienced. Did they grow up during the Denver series?

Stephen A. Smith: I think they grew up, but I think we're also going to keep our eye—we've got to keep our eyes on Daigneault and what he’s doing. He's got some, you know, growing pains too. He's been coaching this team for five years. We know what he brings to the table. He is to be respected.

But I'm a person who’s been relatively critical of the franchise from the coaching standpoint, because I think in terms of player personnel, I think that Sam Presti has done an absolutely exceptional job. When you look at the history of the players he's had on this roster, it's ripe for the Hall of Famers. You've got Kevin Durant, you've got Russell Westbrook, you've got James Harden. You've got role players like Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson in the starting lineup. You had a Victor Oladipo here. You had a Paul George here. You had a Carmelo Anthony here. Now you've got Shai and Jalen Williams. Everywhere you turn, they've had all-world players.

But in 17 years, this man, Sam Presti, doesn't have one single championship to show for it. And I am unapologetic about the fact that I am here covering the Western Conference Finals, and it's something I am not going to apologize for reminding the entire audience in this city about.

I can't stand when I see folks comfortable with being in play. That ain't enough. You have to close at some point. You don't win all the time, nobody does. But 17 years with this talent? And not one single championship to show for it? I am not going to let that slide.

When are you going to close, Sam Presti? When are you going to close?

You've had Scott Brooks here, who's a damn good coach. You've had Billy Donovan here, who was a two-time national champion at Florida before he became the head coach. Nobody's questioning their coaching acumen. But when you look at the personnel they've been able to accumulate, through picks, through free agency, trades, etc., the fact remains that they've been pretty damn impressive. And you've looked at them and said, “Why don't you have a title?” It doesn’t seem to make any sense.

When you ask those kinds of questions, there’s one person to look at, and that’s the man that runs basketball operations.

And so he is the reigning Executive of the Year. I want to be on the record saying he absolutely deserves it. He is an elite executive, an outstanding individual, and a good man who's been incredibly loyal to this organization, because he could have left to go elsewhere on many occasions, and he has not.

So, Sam Presti is to be revered in that regard. But it doesn’t mean we don’t get to ask: When are you going to close? When are you going to be in a position to raise that championship trophy?

They’re in a position to do it this year. It's their first berth in the Western Conference Finals since 2016. And if you don’t do it this year, with all those picks he’s accumulated, he better damn well go out there and use them to go get a superstar player to join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Because at some point in time, this great basketball town, that is Oklahoma City, deserves a championship. Great ain't good enough. And being in the mix ain’t good enough.

At some point in time, you've got to deliver the goods. And it's time to call him on that.

Q: If there is a championship parade in OKC, will you come back for it?

Stephen A. Smith: I’m not going to do that. It's y'all's city. It's y'all's time, and y'all deserve this. And I don't need to fly to Oklahoma City to enjoy with you. I'll be on TV giving you the props that you deserve.

Q: The bench has been big for the Thunder. Will that continue to matter?

Stephen A. Smith: Incredible. Incredible. Wallace is the future. This kid’s got skills. I think that somebody like Lu Dort needs to watch himself, because he's good, he's gifted, and he's tough as nails. He’s a linebacker playing football, for crying out loud. He’s tough as nails. But Wallace is so special, you can't keep everybody.

And I think that if you're Sam Presti and these guys, you're going to prioritize, in all likelihood, keeping him. And I think you have to look at that.

I would say Caruso, the defense that he was playing on Jokic in Game 7 was just phenomenal. He deserves so much credit for that. Wiggins can play. The other Jaylin Williams can play. They have depth. They have guys that can play, which once again highlights the fact that there are no excuses. You should be able to win it all.

I mean, if I had to encapsulate the Final Four of these NBA Playoffs, I see the New York Knicks having a hell of a time trying to beat the Indiana Pacers, even though they could win that series. I give the Knicks a chance against Minnesota. I give them almost no chance against Oklahoma City.

The difference is, I think Minnesota can beat OKC. So even though OKC deserves to be the favorite, it would not surprise me at all if Minnesota won this series in seven games.

So I'm looking at it from that standpoint and just watching how things unfold, knowing what's necessary in order to capture the chip. People have to show up. That bench has to show up. Their depth has to be utilized. Shai has to be a star. Jalen Williams has to remember he's an All-Star caliber player and play like it. And collectively, you have to find a way to deal with Ant-Man.

During the regular season, they split 2–2. He wasn't that great against you guys, but in three of those games, Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo didn’t play. Having to deal with them now makes things very interesting.

Q: Last one—more likely: Thunder sweep or a Stephen A. Smith presidential campaign?

Stephen A. Smith: The sweeping, of course. I might have answered that question the other way if it wasn’t for, you know, my new contract. Last time I checked, I signed a new contract with ESPN. It's a pretty nice contract. So I’m living life... I’ve been told if I would have run for the presidency, I’d have to give up some of that money. I'm not inclined to give up my money now.