Kenny Smith addresses Sabrina Ionescu comments during All-Star weekend

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) competes in the Stephen vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge during NBA All-Star Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Kenny Smith received a ton of backlash for his on-air commentary during the Stephen Curry versus Sabrina Ionescu showdown on All-Star weekend. The TNT analyst argued that Ionescu should not have shot the ball from the NBA three-point line, which is one foot and 7.2 inches further than the WNBA three-point line that she is typically accustomed to.

On Monday, Smith appeared on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” to respond to those who referred to his take as sexist and archaic. Smith believes his comments were misconstrued, as he was trying to point out that Curry had an unfair advantage over his female counterpart due to the reps he had put in from the NBA range.

“Most people who know basketball understood what I was talking about,” Smith said, via Sports Illustrated. “Actually, I was advocating for her, more than anything else, because basketball is muscle memory. So he practices from one range, she practices from another.

“There’s even a study… the guy who throws darts. And if you move him out even one step, his accuracy changes dramatically. …So I’m like, ‘Why is [Curry] getting the advantage, to shoot at his line?’ That’s an advantage. It’s not gender, it’s not genetics.”

On commentary, Smith stressed several times that Curry versus Ionescu was not “a fair contest,” pointing to the fact that tee markers on a golf course differ for men and women. Smith’s remarks didn’t sit well with Reggie Miller, who implied that his broadcast colleague would rather see Ionescu “just playing with dolls” instead of shooting a basketball.

Smith would stir the pot even further by asking Miller, “What’s wrong with that?”

In response to the backlash over the “doll” comments, Smith said, “I think when Reggie was joking around about, ‘Oh, she can play with dolls.’ …I have daughters, my thought when I first heard that was, ‘What’s wrong with that?’ You should play with dolls, and you can do sports.”

Ionescu was originally supposed to shoot from the WNBA three-point line, but the Liberty star made the call to shoot from the NBA three-point line instead. Despite shooting from the men’s line, Ionescu notched up an impressive score of 26 — the winning tally for Damian Lillard in the regular three-point contest.

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