Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo Lost It on Stephen A. Smith for His Joel Embiid vs. Nikola Jokic Pick
Stephen A. Smith and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo had quite the back-and-forth on Wednesday’s First Take over a debate about who the NBA’s most skilled big man is.
Smith used a segment discussing Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid’s knee injury Tuesday night to say that he believes, at least from a skill set standpoint, that Embiid is the greatest big man in today’s NBA, even better than defending NBA champion Nikola Jokić.
“Embiid is never healthy so it’s a moot point, but I’m talking about, in terms of his skill set and his game and what he brings to the table, healthy Embiid, I’m taking over Jokić or any big man in basketball right now,” Smith said.
Here’s the full dialogue.
"In terms of his skill set and his game and what he brings to the table, healthy [Joel] Embiid, I'm taking over [Nikola] Jokic or any big man in basketball right now."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 31, 2024
Mad Dog was LIVID with Stephen A. Smith on taking Embiid over the Joker ????pic.twitter.com/sl8ZKGQKch
Smith did concede that he would take Jokić over Embiid overall because of his “durability and reliability,” but on skillset alone, Embiid was his choice. That infuriated Mad Dog, who quickly went into his reasons for backing the Nuggets' star.
“Jokić can handle the ball, he’s a much better passer,” Russo said. “Are we going to start the day with this asinine remark out of you?”
By the end, host Molly Qerim was doing everything she could to slow down the train, joking that Smith “teed himself up” for the beef with Russo. Fans, meanwhile, loved the quintessential First Take moment.
Key word is healthy. Longevity and availability over Joel’s flash. Not to mention postseason stats LOL. This year has cemented this ridiculous debate:
— ICE (@Ice_Rinco10) January 31, 2024
Jokic > Embiid https://t.co/vWQoqDCP89
Healthy Joel embiid is a figment of your imagination https://t.co/xgqCIoWPiN
— bow (@esivs) January 31, 2024
that skill bs argument is so overplayed https://t.co/yXsaTbBJFG
— Michael Rice ✌〽️ (@Riceness30) January 31, 2024
Jokic is the best player in the NBA by far… https://t.co/ZdBugpw0uo
— Yoofi Quansah (@yquansah_) January 31, 2024
Completely with Mad Dog on this one https://t.co/nu62SzVrqV
— Lucas???????? (@SilkyJude) January 31, 2024