Pelicans Roast Stephen A. Smith After He Fat Shamed Zion Williamson, Share Highlight Reel Clip of Him

Smith has commented on Zion's weight before, stating "he'll eat the table."

February 23, 2024

(Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty Images), (Photo by Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)

Stephen A. Smith is catching some heat from people on social media for comments he made about Zion Williamson's weight.

On Friday morning's latest episode of Get Up!, Smith took aim at Zion's weight despite the New Orleans Pelicans currently on a hot streak, winning eight of their last nine games. According to the First Take host, Zion's habits and weight are once again a concern.

"Zion Williamson, it's not about his game," said Smith. "It's about how many burgers he's eating. And whether or not he is going to be in shape or is he going to keep eating McDonald's and have chefs clamoring for him to come to their restaurants. That what he has to prove, that the chefs don't love him any longer, okay? That he's committed to playing basketball and being in shape."

It didn't take long before folks on social media left their opinion on the matter and criticized Smith for his words against Zion.

"It's beyond embarassing this Stephen A stuff now. The NBA has to have the worst media coverage in all of sports. Honestly pathetic," one person tweeted. "Not sure what Mike Greenberg is smirking at either? It's not funny. The only thing that's funny is Steph A's inability to actually cover sports."

Another wrote, "Pels have won 8 of their last 9, Zion is hooping. SAS is horrible for the sport."

A third person said, "Only Zion gets it like this. This is messed up. Tired of Stephen A. and his nasty hairline."

The New Orleans Pelicans also came to Zion's defense with a pair of tweets showing Smith's senior year basketball stats for Winston-Salem State University, where he averaged 1.5 points per game, and a highlight reel of some of his fumbles on the court.

Smith caught wind of the insults and fired back with a tweet of his own that questioned whether the team would be making it to the postseason come April.

"LESS!!! Can't score when you can't play due to a devastating knee injury. That's my fact. Now…… what's y'all excuse for never winning anything," he tweeted. "Can't wait to see y'all in April. May and June? We won't even go there! Good Luck! Tell my boys…Coach Green and CJ I'm always rooting for them."

The Pelicans are currently in fifth place in the West with a 34-22 record behind Zion's impressive 22.5 points on 58.5 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists.