Stephen A. Smith doubles down on controversial Lakers stance

The Los Angeles Lakers own the NBA’s best record at 10-2. Moving on from the LeBron James era has not been much of a challenge thanks to Luka Doncic, who is averaging an absurd 39.3 points per contest. Austin Reaves has stepped into a bigger role and responded by pouring in 25.3 points in support. Walker Kessler is third on the team with 14.9 points per game. On paper this seems good. MORE: Luka Doncic joins Kobe Bryant in historic Lakers featStephen A. Smith sees a problem.“I’ve never seen an NBA team with its top three players being white deliver a championship,” he said on the latest episode of his SiriusXM show. “It’s never happened, and I’m here to tell you I don’t think it’s going to happen this year.”"I’ve never seen an NBA team with its top three players being white deliver a championship. It’s never happened, and I’m here to tell you: I don’t think it’s gonna happen this year." – Stephen A. Smith on the Lakers https://t.co/gg2xor7wz9— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 11, 2026This is not a new take from Smith. Over the summer he deemed the Lakers to be “White Boy Central”—a comment that drew strong reaction online. 3 WHITE DUDES?! The Lakers Really Think THIS Can Win a Championship? 👇 Watch the full episode. Link in the comments. https://t.co/jTQ2vrDV7C— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 1, 2026“Where the hell do the Los Angeles Lakers think they’re going with a bunch of white dudes,” Smith previously wondered. “Your three top players are white dudes? Really? This ain’t golf. This ain’t baseball. Hell, it ain’t even soccer. What you all think this is? In NBA history, when have you seen your three most prominent players on a basketball team all be white. And that takes you to the promised land. Somebody got to say it so I’m saying it.”Whether somebody needed to say it or not remains very much up for debate. Those looking to disprove this thesis have to go all the way back to 1958 when the St. Louis Hawks won the NBA title with a trio of white players leading the way. So that’s not exactly a gotcha moment. Nov 9, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia (12) and guard Luka Doncic (77) react after the Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)Here’s the thing about Smith’s prediction. He will probably be right.Los Angeles’ start has been thoroughly impressive yet they remain a longshot to emerge victorious in the Finals this coming June. There are several teams most believe to be better and more complete. And a 12-game sample size shouldn’t be enough to move people off that opinion. If the Lakers do fail, it won’t be because their three leading scorers are white. It will be either because they were not constructed well enough to win the sport’s ultimate prize or the players did not perform well enough to win it. Probably both if we’re projecting out a few months.— Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter —