Stephen A. Smith went on a massive rant on his radio show about how Mark Jackson is the forgotten man amid the Golden Warriors’ success and how the team’s former coach deserves so much more credit than he is receiving. But he didn’t just stop at saying Jackson deserves credit and recognition; he went so far as to say Jackson deserves more credit than Steve Kerr or Luke Walton.
During his rant, Smith, who more than lived up to his “screamin A.” nickname, said that the Warriors are so good they barely require coaching, thereby diminishing what Walton has done in leading the team to a record 20-0 start.
“Long before Steph Curry was a champion and Steph Curry was the MVP of this league and Steph Curry had established himself as the best player on the planet, there was some dude by the name of Mark Jackson that was coaching this brother. Helping to guide and tutor him, and more importantly helped compile the bodies around him that assisted in his growth,” Smith said of Jackson on his SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio show.
“The Warriors as presently constructed did all that by themselves. They showed that they barely need coaching in order to win the way they are playing right now. And how did they get to that?”
Smith credited Jackson for helping to build the Warriors’ roster, saying that Jerry West wanted to give up some of the Warriors’ players but Jackson stepped in and said heck no and told them not to.
Smith then said that the praise Walton has received and consideration he has gotten for a permanent head coaching job while Jackson remains out of the coaching profession upsets black people.
“This is what pisses off black people. This is what ticks us off,” Smith said. “Luke Walton coaches 20 games in games he really doesn’t have to coach because of what Steph Curry and those boys are doing and he’s the golden boy. We got to talk about him getting a coaching job but Mark Jackson’s sitting on the sidelines, and he’s the one in large part responsible for constructing all of this. He was a part of that. And he can’t get another look because he wants to go to church on Sundays instead of being on the golf course, shmoozing with executives and sponsors. But Luke Walton basically gets to coast to an undefeated record over the first 20 games, and he’s the golden boy. Or Steve Kerr gets to inherit Mark Jackson’s team, he the golden boy.”
There is little doubt that Jackson deserves a lot of credit for first turning the Warriors around from a loser to a winner. I thought the team even made a mistake in firing him given his success. But you know what? Kerr proved beyond a doubt that he was much superior as a coach when he led the Warriors to the best record in the league and a championship last season.
And then, despite the Warriors’ talent, how can you deny the job Luke Walton has done? Surely he has some responsibility for the perfect start. That’s not just on the players. We even have proof of how the coaching has helped the team.
If Smith would have just left it as reminding the public that Jackson deserves more recognition and credit for getting the ball rolling with the Warriors’ turnaround, I would have completely agreed. But when he goes out and says Jackson deserves more credit than a coach who led the team to a championship and one who has them off to a 20-0 start, that’s taking things too far.
You can hear the audio below:
H/T Deadspin
