Stephen A. Smith Facing Backlash Over Golden State Warriors Mistake
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has come under fire for making a factually incorrect comment about the Golden State Warriors after their elimination from the NBA postseason.
Last Friday, the Warriors fell 111-96 to the Phoenix Suns in the play-in game to determine the No. 8 seed. With the win, Devin Booker's group set up a first-round matchup with the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Speaking on ESPN's "First Take," Smith incorrectly stated that Golden State hasn't made the postseason since they last won it all in 2022. He's obviously wrong, as they qualified in 2023 and 2025:
"They haven't been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022. That's four years away from the playoffs" – Stephen A. Smith on the Golden State Warriors pic.twitter.com/xrUGkeKuoZ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 20, 2026
It's stunning that Smith has already forgotten about Golden State's run in 2024-25. They upset the second-seeded Houston Rockets in a thrilling seven-game series before falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference semis.
In 2023, the sixth-seeded Warriors took down the Sacramento Kings. Fans got a can't-miss second-round showdown between Stephen Curry's Dubs and LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers, which the Purple and Gold won in six games.
"Mind you that the Warriors have made the playoffs multiple times since 2022, including literally last postseason!" one fan said.
"Only 9 teams have won more playoff games than the Warriors since 2022," a user commented.
"Just so embarrassing Stephen A," said another.
"Hire me & I will spout inaccuracies on the air for 98% less salary," wrote a fan.
"ESPN would be better without him," another wrote.
2026 May Be the End of an Era for the Warriors
Late in the loss to Phoenix, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr shared an emotional embrace with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. It wasn't difficult to understand the emotions on either side.
On Tuesday, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area reported that Kerr is unlikely to return for 2026-27. Poole reports that Kerr entered training camp "mentally prepared" for this season to be his last at the helm.
Golden State's title hopes were dashed when Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending ACL tear in January. Now, it looks like they'll have the difficult task of finding a proper successor to Kerr with their title window closing.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 3:41 PM.