NBA on TNT announcer Kenny Smith has been called out following his commentary stint on All-Star Saturday.
The 58-year-old was on the mic alongside Reggie Miller as the NBA's Steph Curry took on New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu in a three-point shootout.
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Curry, widely regarded as the greatest shooter of all time, faced the WNBA's Ionescu in Indianapolis.
The Golden State Warriors star eventually won 29-26 after an exciting exhibition contest from downtown.
Smith, a regular feature on Inside the NBA alongside Shaq and Charles Barkley, claimed that Ionescu should have taken her shots from the WNBA three-point line.
"She should have shot it from the women’s line," Smith said on the broadcast.
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"That would have been a fair contest. I still support Sabrina. But she should have shot it from where the women shoot from."
“Why are you putting those boundaries on her? She wanted to shoot from [the men's line]," Miller fired back.
Smith attempted to make his argument by saying there is a "women's tee in golf".
Miller went on to claim Smith seemed to want Ionescu to be "playing with dolls", an apparent reference to a 2019 Washington Post interview with the Liberty's star.
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"No, I want her to shoot from where you shoot from. And there is nothing wrong with playing with dolls," came Smith's reply.
Viewers were quick to comment on the exchange, which came after Ionescu made an impressive 26 three-point buckets.
Shaq and Kenny Smith taunt Charles Barkley live on NBA on TNT as Ernie Johnson gasps 'do you really want to do this-'"The absolute condescension dripping off Kenny Smith after Sabrina's performance is so utterly disappointing. 'I want her to shoot where she shoots from.' Sir, she just tied the number needed to make the NBA three-point contest finals. Thank goodness for Reggie Miller," wrote one fan on X.
"Reggie was the voice of reason here, this one’s all on Kenny," said another.
"Glad I watched this muted," added a third.
"Feel like Reggie was just trying to damage control there," said a fourth.
"Sucks that Kenny Smith tainted a really special moment in basketball history," CelticsBlog's Noa Dalzell tweeted on X.
When the contest was first announced, Ionescu was set to shoot from the WNBA 3-point line length of 22 feet and 1.75 inches.
But she opted to throw from the NBA line - 23 feet and nine inches - to level the playing field.
"Personally, I shoot from that range to begin with," Ionescu told CBS prior to the contest.
"I practice from that range wanting to be a better shooter and a better basketball player. Just get better as a whole.
"Knowing I had that opportunity to pick what line I wanted to shoot from, it was a no-brainer from when it was first presented that I wanted to shoot from the NBA line."
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Elsewhere in the All-Star skills challenges, Mac McClung won the Dunk Contest for the second straight season.
On Sunday, the Eastern and Western conference teams will face off in a return to a familiar format for the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.
