Suns owner Mat Ishbia fires back at ESPN's Stephen A. Smith's 'worst owner' remark

Phoenix Suns team owner Mat Ishbia responded to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith saying earlier this week on ESPN’s First Take that he’s “on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner” ever in basketball.“Stephen A.

Smith, I don’t take much of what he says seriously,” Ishbia said during the Suns' end-of-season news conference Thursday, April 17, at the team’s practice facility. “I don’t think many people do to be honest with you. The things he said about Kevin Durant, just wrong and disrespectful.



The things he said about LeBron (James) were just disrespectful and inappropriate.”Ishbia proceeded to say he doesn't think Smith really believes Ishbia is heading down the road of becoming the worst NBA owner.“He’s doing his thing, he’s on the mic and I think he’ll apologize to me because I think it’s disrespectful to (have) my name aligned with anybody that was kicked out of the league or no longer part of it,” Ishbia said.

Smith cited Donald Sterling and James Dolan in emphasizing how bad he believes Ishbia has been as an owner.The NBA gave Sterling a lifetime ban in reaction to Sterling making racist comments during his time as the owner of the Clippers. The decision ultimately led to Sterling selling the team.

As for Dolan, who owns the New York Knicks, Smith said the hiring of Leon Rose as team president saved him from being seen as a horrible owner.“If he wants to say the first 21⁄2 years Mat Ishbia bought the team, we didn’t win a championship, you could probably say that about almost every owner ever, but yeah, we had high expectations, but we didn’t win,” Ishbia said.“We spent a lot of money and we didn’t win.

Yep. Yep. Be critical of me on that, but to even say that kind of stuff, I think he’ll apologize.

I think he was out of line and I think he knows that. I don’t think he really believes that.”The Suns went into the 2024-25 season with the NBA’s first $400-million team, featuring Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and ended it with a 36-46 record, failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20, which was the last time they had a losing record.

Smith put “95, 98%” of Phoenix’s problems on team ownership.Ishbia ended his response to Smith by asking, “What is a great owner?” He then addressed the idea.“My job, I’m definitely not shooting, you don’t want to see me shoot or play or coach,” said Ishbia, a former walk-on who played for Michigan State’s 2000 men’s national championship team.

“What am I supposed to do? My job is to provide resources so that when my GM (James Jones), my front office, my coach wants something or a player, that I say, ‘Yes.’ I don’t focus on profitability, I focus on winning, I focus on the community, I focus on the fan experience. I focus on those things.

I think that’s what makes a great owner. I think if you ask the people in Phoenix, they probably think I’m a great owner.”Read more: Suns owner Mat Ishbia: 'We got to get the next (coaching) hire right'Ishbia brought up providing free local TV viewership of Suns games, lowering prices on food at arena concession stands and “investing” $100 million into the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury’s practice facility as examples of actions he’s taken to show what he has done as an owner.

Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury for a record $4 billion during the 2022-23 season. “That’s kind of what I think a great owner would do,” Ishbia said. “Community.

We brought the WNBA All-Star game, we’re bringing the NBA All-Star game. We put millions of dollars into the community to do a lot of things. I think that’s my role.

Now, let’s be clear – winning is part of my job, too, but there’s a lot of things a great owner would do and to put me in that category was disrespectful. We’ll just move on from that. I don’t really spend much time thinking about him.

”Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns owner fires back at ESPN's Stephen A.

Smith.