Jay Williams tells Stephen A. Smith to ‘name names’ of Steph Curry critic

Stephen A. Smith’s controversial comments Wednesday about Steph Curry didn’t sit well with ESPN colleague Jay Williams.

Williams said Thursday that Curry hasn’t just thrived in this new era of basketball; he created it. And the ESPN analyst called out Smith for “using anonymous ghosts of the past” to put down the Golden State Warriors star.

For those who missed it, Smith said on First Take that a “Hall of Famer” told him Curry wouldn’t have been as good if he’d played in the past.

“I had a Hall of Famer come up to me and said to me, ‘Steph Curry would not have averaged more than 17 points a game. Now, obviously, I think that person should have been drug tested when he said that to me,” Smith said.

“But then I quieted down because he wasn’t talking about his skill set. He said,  ‘In our era, we would’ve hurt him.'”

“I had a Hall of Famer come up to me and said to me, ‘Steph Curry would not have averaged more than 17 points a game. … In our era, we would’ve hurt him.'”😳 @stephenasmith on Draymond Green’s recent comments about comparing NBA eras 👀 pic.twitter.com/PxnstCSHR5

— First Take (@FirstTake) April 2, 2025

Williams criticized Smith for using that anonymous source to make such a statement.

“Stephen A …. you’re too smart to keep pushing barbershop hearsay like it’s fact,” Williams posted on X. “’A Hall of Famer told me Steph wouldn’t average more than 17?'” C’mon. Name names or don’t bring it to the table.

“Steph Curry broke basketball. He didn’t just adapt to this era — he created it. So let’s stop using anonymous ghosts of the past to discredit the present.”

Stephen A …. you’re too smart to keep pushing barbershop hearsay like it’s fact.
“A Hall of Famer told me Steph wouldn’t average more than 17”? C’mon. Name names or don’t bring it to the table.

Steph Curry broke basketball. He didn’t just adapt to this era — he created it.
So… https://t.co/YhyvhwXWMn

— Jay Williams (@RealJayWilliams) April 3, 2025

Curry, an 11-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest NBA players of all time. It’s an actual reach to bring that into question, even for someone who thrives on controversial hot takes. To be fair, Smith didn’t say he believed Curry would not have been a great player in the past; only the “anonymous player” had told him that. A couple of years ago, Smith was prepared to put Curry on his NBA “Mount Rushmore” as one of the four best players in league history.

Stephen A. Smith is preparing to bump LeBron off Mount Rushmore for Steph Curry pic.twitter.com/5qoMoVZusl

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 3, 2023

Smith’s comments Wednesday immediately drew blowback on social media. TNT Studio host Adam Lefkoe reposted a video of Smith saying that writing, “Questioning Steph Curry’s ability to be great in any era is frustratingly absurd.”