Marcus Morris Sr. made his First Take debut on Thursday and he made an immediate impression.
Morris had hot takes prepared for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic among others. He was just saying stuff at such an inredibly online level that Stephen A. Smith basically paused the show to thank him for his service.
Morris began his appearance by saying that he would take the Lakers, Clippers and Warriors over the 64-win (and counting) Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference because "what has OKC done outside of the regular season?"
"I got [the Lakers] coming out of the West, let's be frank. ... I wouldn't even say OKC was next. I would say the Clippers, I would go as far to say the Warriors over OKC. What has [the Thunder] done outside of the regular season?"
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 3, 2025
—Marcus Morris Sr.pic.twitter.com/io9bjvWaP3
This was the first time during the show that a Morris take got a visceral reaction out of Stephen A. Smith, but it would not be the last.
Later in the show Morris was asked about Nikola Jokic, who he may be a bit biased against. Morris refused to say the three-time MVP wasn't one of the top 20 players of all-time. While that may not sound like the most outrageous opinion, it still appeared to shock Smith and Kendrick Perkins.
However you may feel about Jokic's historical standing, this was the one that caused Stephen A. Smith to realize he might be dealing with a special hot take talent.
Marcus Morris Sr: "I'm still not gonna say [Nikola Jokic] is top 20 right now."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 3, 2025
Stephen A. Smith: "I disagree... [but] I wanna thank you for being on the show today... the amount of heat that you're taking off my shoulders... it's a beautiful moment." 😂pic.twitter.com/RxUCtn8WA5
"Let me say this to you. I disagree with you, but before I disagree with you, I want to thank you for being on the show today," Smith said. "Because the amount of heat that you're taking off my shoulders and everybody, it's a beautiful moment. I mean, Perk, we need to celebrate Marcus today."
Morris then went for one final hot take, saying that Kawhi Leonard was more feared than Stephen Curry. Smith had just said yesterday that Curry was the most feared and they played a clip to set it up. Once Morris got the take off Smith stomped around the set screaming.
Marcus Morris Sr. picks Kawhi Leonard over Steph Curry as the most feared player in the NBA 👀 @stephenasmith wasn't having it 😯 pic.twitter.com/Rt3Z9DdQjQ
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 3, 2025
Not only did Morris understand the assignment, but he completed it. There was no flip-flopping. There was no hearing the other side. He went out there to give his opinions and disagree with anyone who might disagree with him. First Take might have a new regular.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith Absolutely Loved Marcus Morris Sr.’s ‘First Take’ Debut Hot Takes .