Stephen A. Smith fires back at Trump for sleeping during NBA Finals

The high-stakes drama of the NBA Finals took a turn off the court this week as ESPN's Stephen A. Smith took direct aim at President Donald Trump. Following the San Antonio Spurs' 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 3 on Monday, Smith publicly scrutinized the President for appearing to sleep during the contest.

A Heated Exchange

During Tuesday’s broadcast of First Take, Smith addressed the viral footage of the President in the stands. “Guess what he was doing during the game, ladies and gentlemen,” Smith said. “Go online. Look at the video. I’m not going to accuse him of snoring because I wasn’t in earshot, but the brother wasn’t awake. He wasn’t awake.” You can view the reports on the incident here.

This confrontation followed remarks made by Trump on Monday night, where he hit back at Smith’s earlier criticism regarding the President's attendance at the game. When questioned about Smith, Trump told reporters, “I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ. I don’t think Stephen has that. I don’t that he does actually.”

Smith didn't hold back his rebuttal on Tuesday, drawing a parallel between the President and his own past rhetoric. “If it [is] that important for you to be there, why did you [look] like you were asleep?” Smith asked. “Didn’t you call out former president Joe Biden, ‘Sleepy Joe.’ What should we call you? You weren’t awake.”

Smith further criticized the President’s presence at the arena, suggesting his attendance was driven by selfish, narcissistic motives rather than genuine support for the Knicks.

On the Court

While the off-court feud dominated the headlines, the Spurs delivered a critical performance on the hardwood. Victor Wembanyama paced San Antonio with 32 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, narrowing the Knicks' lead to 2-1 in the series.

The defeat marked the first time the Knicks have lost in 46 days, snapping a 13-game winning streak that stood as the second-longest in NBA postseason history. Before this loss, the team's last stumble occurred on April 23 against the Atlanta Hawks. Since then, the Knicks had been rolling, sweeping Philadelphia and Cleveland while securing the first two games against the Spurs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.