Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith isn’t shy to say how he feels about Milwaukee.
Well, he really isn’t shy about anything.
Responding to the trade that sent Milwaukee Bucks legends Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat in exchange for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis, Smith had more to say.
On his June 23 episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” on YouTube and SirusXM, Smith said he feels for the four former Heat players who have to move to Milwaukee.
“That is not an easy transition to make, when you’re thinking about your quality of life, from Miami to Milwaukee,” Smith said. “I think if it were me, I’d cry. I’d contemplate retirement.”
While apparently not realizing that Herro is from the Milwaukee area, Smith continued by discussing the difference in winters.
“You get to south Florida, ladies and gentlemen, it’s pushing it to get lower than 55, 60 degrees in the winter,” he said. “Needless to say, Milwaukee is a freezer in the wintertime.”
You may recall it’s not the first time Smith has dissed Milwaukee.
During the 2021 NBA playoffs, he was asked on ESPN’s “First Take” if he really wanted to travel to Milwaukee and Smith responded, “Hell, no,” with colleague Molly Qerim calling Milwaukee and Phoenix “terrible cities.”
“I don’t believe I’ve ever rooted for Atlanta, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Los Angeles Clippers more in my life,” Smith said.
In an interview later in the playoffs with Milwaukee’s Fox6, Smith tried to explain:
“It has nothing to do with the citizens, the fan, the team, the facilities,” he said. “The Hyatt downtown, I used to love staying there. It’s all good. I’ve got friends in town there. The people are great. I just don’t like cold weather, and Milwaukee, to me, is cold weather, very, very simple. I ain’t apologizing for it. I ain’t changing my mind about it. It is what it is.”
Again last fall, Smith gave what at best can be described as a backhanded compliment to the city during the 2025 National League Championship Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Did you see how hyped the fans were in Milwaukee?” Smith said about Game 2 on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.” “Because, let’s call it what it is, there ain’t a lot to do in Milwaukee. It’s a great city, great sports town, great fan base, but there ain’t a lot to do.
“These moments are cherished. Because you’re not going to get so many of them.”
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: After Giannis trade, Stephen A. Smith disses Milwaukee. Again
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
