ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith slams Canadian media for Stanley Cup Final coverage over Toronto Raptors

With the Toronto Raptors heading to the NBA Final for the first time in franchise history, plenty of Canadian sports fans are hopping on the bandwagon. But, just don’t expect Raptors highlights ahead of the Stanley Cup Final on Sportscentre… after all, this is Canada where hockey is king.

That sentiment seems to be lost on ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith of “First Take” fame. During a recent visit to Toronto to cover the NBA Final, Smith seemed perplexed that Canadian sports news outlets would favor news and highlights from the Stanley Cup Final over the NBA Final.

Check out Smith yourself in the video below:

Look, the Raptors are a great story and there’s no doubt that they’re generating a ton of buzz and gaining potentially thousands of new fans a day… but this is Canada. 

We Canadians LIVE hockey. We ARE hockey.

While Canada has a strong basketball history and a Canadian did in fact invent the sport, it’ll simply never generate as much interest in the country as hockey does. It’s just the fact of the matter.

Then again, it’s easy to see why you’re so confused, Mr. Smith. After all… you do work for ESPN where hockey coverage has been non-existent for nearly 20 years…