Stephen A. Smith Roasted for Playing Solitaire During NBA Finals: 'I Can Multitask'

Stephen A. Smith was spotted keeping himself entertained during Game 4 of the NBA Finals — but not with basketball.

As the Oklahoma City Thunder were beating the Indiana Pacers 111-104 on Friday (June 13), the ESPN sportscaster was photographed playing solitaire on his phone. But when Smith noticed the snapshot going viral, he tried to deny being distracted during gameplay.

"Yep! That’s me. Who would’ve thought….I can multi-task," he tweeted. "Especially during TIMEOUTS! Hope y’all are enjoying the NBA Finals.This is going 7 games now, peeps!"

Smith followed with a screengrab of him playing solitaire while simultaneously watching the game in its fourth quarter.

Joking about the moment via their Instagram Stories was Phoenix Suns power forward Kevin Durant, who wrote, "Cmon Steve" next to Smith's picture.

Others called out Smith for showing hypocrisy, with one person on X writing that the ESPN host "hates basketball & he’s the biggest voice in the sport."

Another person, who called Smith one of ESPN's "loudest voices," dubbed the personality "an embarrassment."

Game 5 of the Finals, where the Pacers and Thunder will play in Oklahoma City takes place on Monday (June 16).

Meanwhile, Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has revealed that he and Caitlin Clark have a group chat with their respective partners.

In an interview with ESPN, Haliburton shared some details about his relationship with the fellow Indiana basketball star. "We’re talking 24/7," he claimed. "The four of us hang out all the time."

The Indiana Pacers star also spoke about the pressures that the Indiana Fever star goes through. "She goes through a lot, as you know," he said. "There's a lot of weight and eyes on her. Obviously, there is on me as well, but hers are amplified times a million."

Haliburton and Clark have shown that they’re very good friends. The two Indiana basketball stars have cheered each other on at their games over the last year. Most recently, Clark was seen at a Pacers’ game during the NBA Finals.