Sophie Cunningham is enjoying Luka Doncic’s remarkable start to the NBA season, but the WNBA star has found another reason to laugh. Doncic’s performance is making Stephen A. Smith’s criticism of the Los Angeles Lakers’ newly formed trio look increasingly ridiculous, as reported [1] by Fox News.
Doncic is averaging just under 40 points per game and is on pace for one of the greatest seasons in NBA history. Cunningham said she loves watching him chase records while exposing the weakness in Smith’s argument.
“He’s killing it,” Cunningham said on her “No Hesitation” podcast while discussing Doncic’s historic opening to the season. “He has been so much fun to watch.”
Smith again argued this week that the Lakers cannot win an NBA championship while being led by “three White dudes.” He was referring to Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Walker Kessler.
Smith also said the Lakers need more “brothers” around the trio. Cunningham responded by recalling the thrust of his criticism and contrasting it with what Doncic has delivered on the court.
“Stephen A. was, like, ‘Why would the Lakers ever build a team around three White boys? Like, look at the NBA history. That’s never going to happen. That’s never going to be successful.’ And he (Doncic) is out there freaking killing it. I think it’s so funny.”
Cunningham’s laughter came as Doncic continued producing at a historic pace. Her response focused on the obvious clash between Smith’s sweeping dismissal of the Lakers’ construction and the outstanding play coming from the player at the center of it.
Smith’s claim also runs into trouble when measured against ESPN’s own advanced analytics. During the same season in which he belittled the idea of building around three White players, Doncic, Reaves and Kessler rank as the NBA’s best trio by those measurements.
The Lakers do not have better than the 10th-best championship odds, but the trio is not identified as the reason for that position. Based on the three players’ performances alone, Los Angeles would be near the top.
Instead, the concern described in the source is the Lakers’ weak supporting cast. Those role players are almost entirely Black, creating another glaring contradiction for Smith’s race-centered explanation of the team’s championship limitations.
If Smith insists on assigning those limitations to a particular race, the argument points in the opposite direction from the one he presented. His focus on Doncic, Reaves and Kessler ignores that the trio has performed at an elite level.
The dispute has spread beyond Cunningham’s podcast. An episode of “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” examined the massive media feud surrounding the Lakers’ new trio and described Smith’s viral criticism as racially motivated.
Skip Bayless also rejected Smith’s criticism of the three players. Will Cain separately challenged Smith over what was described as a “racist” claim involving “White dudes” in the NBA.
Cunningham, however, needed only Doncic’s play to make her point. While Smith questioned whether a team centered on three White players could succeed, Doncic kept scoring at a rate just below 40 points per game.
The contrast is what Cunningham found so amusing. Smith issued a broad declaration about what could never work, while the Lakers’ trio rose to the top of ESPN’s advanced analytics and Doncic remained on a historic statistical pace.
For Cunningham, the performance has made Smith’s statement laughable rather than persuasive. The Lakers may still carry only the 10th-best championship odds, but the evidence presented does not place the blame on Doncic, Reaves, or Kessler.
Sophie Cunningham about Luka Dončić: “He’s killing it. He has been so much fun to watch”. Proceeds to laugh at Stephen A. who said Lakers won’t be good, cause they are lead by white players.
Via: @NoHesiShow https://t.co/Idxh0xCZS4
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) November 13, 2026 [3]
Smith’s racial framing therefore lands on the wrong target within the source’s analysis. The trio he dismissed is thriving, while the supporting cast is presented as the concern holding Los Angeles back from stronger championship expectations.