Stephen A. Smith makes wild claim about Draymond Green-Jordan Poole fight

Dec 18, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith broadcasts before a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen A. Smith is making an extremely Stephen A. Smith claim this week.

Appearing Wednesday on “NBA Countdown,” the ESPN personality Smith spoke on the highly-publicized practice incident between Golden State Warriors teammates Draymond Green and Jordan Poole.

“I was told the brother was knocked out,” said Smith of Poole. “That’s how vicious [Green’s] blow was.”

Stephen A on Draymond's punch: "I was told [Jordan Poole] was knocked out. That's how vicious the blow was."#NBATwitter pic.twitter.com/QieKJIOMVD

— 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) October 12, 2022

We actually have the video evidence to analyze Smith’s claim against. Green threw a vicious full-body sucker punch at Poole, who crumpled to the floor upon being struck. But some believed the video showed Poole rising to his feet just moments after getting hit. You can decide for yourself here.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had originally tweeted that Poole was not hurt by Green’s punch and even completed his workout before leaving the floor (though Wojnarowski appears to have since deleted that tweet). It seems unlikely that the Warriors would have permitted Poole to continue his workout if he had actually been knocked out.

Additionally, we know that Poole was well enough to play 23 minutes in a preseason affair against the Los Angeles Lakers just four days later (Golden State’s first game since the incident). As for Smith, he has been a little off with his reporting about the Warriors in the recent past.