Stephen A's Take: SGA joins elite company as MVP | Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles injury was heartbreaking.
The Stephen A. Smith Show
Stephen A. Smith and iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 24 June 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
🏆 NBA Finals Recap
- Champions: Oklahoma City Thunder win the 2024–2025 NBA Championship in Game 7 over the Indiana Pacers.
- MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA)
- 29 points, 12 assists, 1 turnover in Game 7
- Joins elite company as MVP, scoring champ, and NBA champion in the same season
- Thunder’s Core:
- Jalen Williams (J-Dub), Chet Holmgren, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein
- Deep bench with Wiggins and Wallace
- Second-youngest championship team in NBA history
💔 Tyrese Haliburton Injury
- Suffered an Achilles injury in Game 7
- Was off to a hot start before going down
- Emotional moment as he greeted teammates on crutches post-game
- His absence shifted the momentum of the game and series
🏀 Indiana Pacers’ Future
- Despite the loss, the Pacers showed promise:
- Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner, and others showed flashes
- TJ McConnell praised for his gritty performance—nearly MVP-worthy if Pacers had won
- Haliburton’s injury likely sidelines him for the 2025–2026 season
🚑 Injury Crisis in the NBA
- Major stars out for next season:
- Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles)
- Jayson Tatum (Achilles)
- Damian Lillard (Achilles)
- Kyrie Irving (ACL)
- Raises concerns about the toll of modern pace-of-play on players’ bodies
- JJ Redick’s comments on modern wear-and-tear vs. old-school physicality are echoed
🔁 Blockbuster Trade: Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets
- Trade Details:
- KD to Houston
- Phoenix receives: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, 2025 #10 pick, five second-round picks
- Houston’s New Core:
- KD joins Fred VanVleet, Alperen Şengün, Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr.
- Rockets now seen as legit contenders in the West
🔥 Phoenix Suns Fallout
- KD’s age (36) and contract limited trade return
- Suns now focused on offloading Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause
- Beal’s value has plummeted—team may pay him to stay home
🧠 Stephen A’s Takeaways
- OKC is the team to beat, but Houston is coming
- KD still elite: 27 PPG, 50/39/88 shooting splits
- Miami Heat missed a huge opportunity by not pursuing KD harder
- Pat Riley may need to step back and let Erik Spoelstra take over full control
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
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| 0:14.3 | My name is Joseph Rees. |
| 0:16.3 | I am the creator and host of hella black, hella queer, hella Christian. |
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| 0:25.6 | To Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. |
| 0:34.8 | Why is a soap opera Western like Yellowstone so wildly successful? |
| 0:39.9 | The American West with Dan Flores is the latest show from the Meat Eater Podcast Network. |
| 0:45.9 | So join me starting Tuesday, May 6th, where we'll delve into stories of the West |
| 0:50.5 | and come to understand how it helps inform the ways in which we experience the region today. |
| 0:57.6 | Listen to the American West with Dan Flores on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:07.9 | We're going to get started with the NBA Finals that concluded last night with Game 7 in Oklahoma City |
| 1:12.7 | with the Thunder crowned as champions for the 2024-2020-5 season. |
| 1:17.3 | The game featured a devastating injury to pace to star Tyrese Halliburton. |
| 1:20.9 | I'll get to that in a moment. |
| 1:22.5 | But I first want to give props to the Thunder who completed the season, |
| 1:25.9 | having the best record and the best player in the entire NBA. |
| 1:30.1 | Shea Gilgis Alexander, or as my colleague Malika Andrews from ESPN, so affectionately calls him, |
| 1:36.0 | Shea Butter, capped his historic season with 29 points and 12 assists in Game 7. |
| 1:41.5 | By the way, 40 minutes, just one turnover. |
| 1:43.8 | He's just a fourth play in |
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