As LeBron James officially parted ways with the Los Angeles Lakers, opinions on the franchise’s future have poured in, with one of the most controversial takes coming from Stephen A. Smith.
The outspoken analyst said that the Lakers’ post-LeBron James era reflects racial issues, and former NFL player Emmanuel Acho strongly challenged that notion.
Why Emmanuel Acho Disagrees With Stephen A. Smith’s Controversial Lakers Opinion
Smith sparked debate on Wednesday after pointing out that the Lakers’ three biggest stars, including Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and newly acquired Walker Kessler, are all white. Smith said that basketball was different from golf while adding that having the team’s three best players be white was unusual.
This is nothing new for Smith, as he has frequently argued that racial bias has contributed to Black candidates being overlooked for key positions in the NFL, including quarterback, head coach, and general manager.
Acho is Black himself, but he argued that Smith’s comments were unnecessary.
“Nobody had to say that dumb stuff,” Acho said in the “Speakeasy” podcast. “Because here’s what we cannot do, and by we, I mean people that look like you and me. We cannot make an issue when individuals want to say we ain’t seen black quarterbacks win a Super Bowl years ago, when Bill Polian says Lamar Jackson should play wide receiver, not quarterback, and we call it racist.
“We cannot make issues about racial and racism in other sports and then sit here and get off a tongue-in-cheek racist joke. Stephen A. Smith, you would be the first one to take crying racism in the event the role was reversed.”
“Stephen A. Smith, NOBODY needed to say that WILD stuff about the white starting roster of the Los Angeles Lakers”
– @EmmanuelAcho SOUNDS OFF on Stephen A Smith for being critical being able to win a championship with your three best players being whitehttps://t.co/3mPFLqGADs pic.twitter.com/lOIqX3f4ex
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) July 2, 2026
Dončić averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game during the regular season. Despite sharing the backcourt with a high-usage superstar, Reaves bucked expectations by averaging 23.3 points per game while shooting 49.0% from the field and an impressive 87.1% from the free-throw line.
Kessler also took a massive leap this past season, averaging 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He has averaged 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks across 201 regular-season games throughout his career.
Given the talent of that trio, the Lakers have legitimate reasons to believe they can contend for a championship, which is why Acho took issue with Smith’s comments.
“You are one of the more astute basketball analysts in the history of the sport,” Acho continued.
“If you wanted to say I don’t think that Walker Kessler, Austin Reaves, and Luka Dončić have the athleticism to be able to slow down opposing offenses and lead the Lakers to a championship beyond the shadow of a doubt, you can say that.”
“But you want to bring up something that might be coincidental and act like what is coincidental is causation or correlation based upon race. So, Stephen A. Smith, you don’t have the luxury of crying out racism and then simultaneously spewing a racist remark.”
Smith was not the only media personality to joke about the Lakers’ roster, as Bomani Jones also quipped that the Lakers “ain’t been this white since they left Minneapolis,” a reference to the franchise’s early years led by George Mikan.
