Kyrie Irving Takes A Huge Shot At Stephen A. Smith

Kyrie Irving Takes A Huge Shot At Stephen A. Smith originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Kyrie Irving is known for his handles and elite scoring abilities, but he's also drawn a reputation for not being the one to mince his words about anything.

For better or worse, Irving's outspoken nature has earned him his fair share of fans and detractors.

That was the case again when he discussed Stephen A. Smith's new contract with ESPN, which allegedly will give him a whopping $100 million over five years.

If you were to ask the former NBA champion, Smith is way over his head with the kind of money he's making:

“I’m going to discuss his contract. I’m going to discuss Stephen A’s contract and I’mma say: ‘I don’t think you’re worth it,’” Irving said in a streaming session.

Kyrie literally said “someone might try and clip it up, watch the whole thing” and it happened 😭 pic.twitter.com/BXvD9CfVj8

— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) July 12, 2025

Ironically, Stephen A. felt exactly the opposite way about him. He went to his defense when Irving got a three-year, $119 million contract with the Dallas Mavericks, arguing that he was worth more than that:

“In today’s economy, where you got cats getting paid $55, $60 million plus, you couldn’t give this guy at least $43 to $45 million a year? Remember, he was supposed to be getting a player option that would have given him $43 million. So, to me, at $119 million, that is a fraction less than $40 million per. Kyrie Irving deserves more than that,” Smith claimed.

Of course, Irving and Stephen A. have a long history dating back to his days with the Brooklyn Nets, so he wasn't going to let this one slide.

Essentially, if Smith and media pundits are given a chance to fire hot takes about players and their contracts, Irving might feel that it's only right that he can do the very same thing with them.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 12, 2025, where it first appeared.