Joseph Kallan When it comes to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, it’s needless to say fans have a lot of opinions about the longtime sports analyst. Whether it’s his piping-hot takes or his lack of self-awareness when discussing his beloved New York Knicks , Smith has never been one to shy away from answering back.
Except this time, he might’ve lost the battle – after appearing in a rather bizarre A.I.-generated commercial promoting gambling through the popular mobile game Solitaire . The ad appears to be a tongue-in-cheek callback to when fans called him out for playing the game on his phone during Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder .
“Y’all really mad I was playing Solitaire during the Finals? Maybe ask yourself why. Join now for the first time ever – World Solitaire Championship,” Smith says in the ad, which he shared on X (formerly Twitter). Y’all really mad I was playing Solitaire during the Finals? Maybe ask yourself why. Join now for the first time ever – World Solitaire Championship.
Starting today on the Solitaire Cash App Download Now 👇🏾 – Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 3, 2025 Unfortunately for Smith, the internet wasted no time turning the clip into comedic gold. Fans from all corners of the NBA community flooded social media with reactions, memes, and plenty of jokes – and it’s safe to say, they didn’t hold back.
“A hairline so bad that even AI can’t fix it,” user Guybrush Tweetwords wrote. “This whole goddamn thing is some of the ugliest, laziest AI slop I’ve ever seen a company push.” “Steve signs a contract with a company to say that he will allow for his likeness to be used via AI. Company uses Steve’s likeness via AI.
Company knows they do not ultimately control AI, but include it as an object in the contract, anyway. How does it go? ‘We promise, Steve, that we will only use your likeness ONE TIME. WE PROMISE. We’re gonna throw this fish in the water but it’s totally just gonna stay right by the shore. Please sign here.’ Ok, I guess that’s good enough.
LOL.” Whether it was the hairline jokes, the odd AI likeness, or the fact that Smith himself leaned into the bit, the whole situation quickly spiraled into another viral moment – one that the ever-animated analyst couldn’t quite talk his way out of this time.
More NBA news: Nets’ nightmare start: Brooklyn drops season 0-7, skidding toward record losing streak Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns earns high praise from head coach Mike Brown Why are Michael Jordan’s eyes red? Celtics make unfortunate history in Monday night’s loss against Jazz Joseph Kallan Joseph Kallan is a freelance writer with The Sporting News.
His main specialties include the NBA and MLB, but he has a deep passion for the New York Knicks and New York Yankees. After graduating from Hofstra University in 2024, Joseph worked for the NBA Summer League alongside FanSided for one year. In his free time, he’s a ticket-taker at Yankee Stadium.
Source: Sporting News
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