ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is no stranger to the ‘hot take’ but when it comes to his Top 5 NBA teams right now, he’s going all chalk. The boisterous host took to twitter on Tuesday night to share his thoughts about the five best teams in the league, and they’re the five teams that currently sit atop the NBA standings – just in a slightly different order.
As seen in the tweet embedded below, Smith’s picks include: 1) Los Angeles Lakers, 2) Milwaukee Bucks, 3) Los Angeles Clippers, 4) Toronto Raptors, 5) Denver Nuggets.
As always, #NBATwitter had plenty to say about Smith’s picks – but let’s first breakdown exactly where each those teams stand in regards to where they fall on the SAS scale.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks currently boast the best record in the NBA at 53-12, while LeBron’s Lakers are pacing the Western Conference with a record 49-14. The two teams recently squared f at Staples Center which resulted in a 113-103 win for the Lake Show.
The Los Angeles Clippers (44-20) currently rank second in the West, and third on Smith’s list ahead the East’s second-ranked squad, the Toronto Raptors. Smith rounded out his list with the Denver Nuggets over the Boston Celtics. Those two teams are third in their respective conferences with records 43-21.
In conclusion, it is abundantly clear that SAS has a West Coast bias! I’m joking, course, but the reactions around #NBATwitter say otherwise. Check out some the responses to Smith’s rankings below.