The Los Angeles Lakers are staring down a 3-0 series deficit against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith isn't holding back his frustration—especially when it comes to big man Deandre Ayton.
On Monday's episode of First Take, Smith unloaded on the former Phoenix Suns center, whose lackluster performance in Game 3 has become a glaring issue for a Lakers team fighting to stay alive in the Western Conference semifinals.
"That damn Deandre Ayton," Smith said. "I bring up the fact that he's from the Bahamas and people say, 'Why you keep bringing that up?' I said because he plays 50% of the time as if he's lounging on the beach. That's how he plays. You see the frustration on the faces of the Lakers."
Ayton, who joined Los Angeles this season after spending his first five years in Phoenix, posted just 10 points and six rebounds in the Lakers' 131-108 Game 3 loss on May 9—five of those boards coming on the offensive glass. For a player standing 7-foot-1, those numbers are far from what the Lakers expected when they brought him in to bolster their frontcourt.
Smith didn't stop there, pointing to a specific moment that summed up Ayton's effort.
"There was one point, I think Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or somebody got an And-1 on him. He didn't even attempt to move his feet. He just stretched his arms and pushed the dude. No sliding those puppies, as Kendrick Perkins would say, or anything like that. It's demoralizing."
Through three games against the Thunder, Ayton is averaging a career-low 7.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in the postseason—a far cry from the production the Lakers need from a player of his size and pedigree. For context, this is his first playoff appearance since his final season with the Suns in 2022-23, and it's been a rough return to the big stage.
"He's 7-1. He doesn't look like he's gained a pound. He doesn't look like he's spent any time in the gym working on his game or his body or anything," Smith continued. "Looks like the same dude we've seen for years. Like literally, please make sure the check is in the account, I need my money and I'll show up, but I'm not really going to show up but half the time."
The Thunder now have a chance to close out the series with a sweep on Monday, May 11, and punch their ticket to the conference finals. For the Lakers and Ayton, it's a moment of truth—one that will test whether the big man can rise to the occasion or if Smith's critique will prove prophetic.