STEPHEN A. Smith has gotten ridiculed by fans after his latest opinion on Heat star Jimmy Butler.
The ESPN analyst, 55, was on Friday's edition of First Take as the panel questioned if Butler — whose team faces a 2-1 deficit in the NBA Finals against the Nuggets — can be the best player on a title-winning team.
Smith was alongside host Christine Williamson and analysts Kendrick Perkins and Brian Windhorst.
And Stephen A. did not hold back on his assessment of Butler.
"No, I do not," Smith said, when asked if Butler is the right fit to lead a championship-caliber team. "Even when he's 100 percent, I don't believe that.
He continued: "You think about superstars and what we usually get from those superstars in terms of offensive production, that's not Jimmy."
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The fiery sports personality still believes that the Heat forward is a star.
However, Smith also believes that Butler's style of play is "predicated" on getting to the free throw line.
Fans criticized Stephen A.'s takes on Butler, calling his opinion a "joke."
Another wrote: "SAS switches up every other day."
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A third added: "I love Stephen A but that's blasphemy."
And a fourth asked: "You just gonna let him talk bout you like that? @jimmybutler."
The 33-year-old Butler has struggled in the NBA Finals — averaging 20.7 points and 6.7 assists per game and shooting 42.1 percent from the floor against Denver.
He did have his best game of the series in Miami's Game 3 loss as Butler scored 28 points on 11-24 shooting.
Smith's take will be put to the test on Friday night when the Heat play the Nuggets in a Game 4 matchup in Miami.
