Skip to content Skip to footer

How in the world does Ryan Hollins have a sports analyst job?

Ay man, at this point, put me in the booth and we’ll see what happens.

Stephen A. Smith went on vacation, and in his stead, ESPN chose to put Ryan Hollins on their weekday morning talk show First Take opposite regular Max Kellerman. Oh, what a bad decision it was.

Hollins is not a regular on First Take, but this was not his first time on the show. He appears frequently when Smith or Kellerman are on vacation, or sometimes even joins the two on set.

Since appearing on set, he has become a walking laughing stock for his terrible opinions and freezing cold predictions. And while Twitter and almost all other social media has a field day in making fun of him, so too do his peers.

Ryan Hollins played 10 seasons in the NBA for nine teams, and after a year overseas, in 2018, he joined ESPN. Hollins was mostly a benchwarmer, which has spurred jokes from Kellerman and other analysts, though he was on some mildly successful teams, such as the 2012-2014 Los Angeles Clippers.

It makes sense that ESPN wants retired professional sports players on staff to debate sports since, well, they were the ones who actually played and know what goes on. No one wants to watch four straight-laced Harvard graduates who never played sports past high school debate the level of toughness of a 12-year NFL veteran.

But man, Hollins is awful. *insert Spongebob “aw brother, this guy stinks!” meme*

Some of Hollins’ worst takes include saying that the big three in Miami was not a big three because Chris Bosh was not on a star level, the LA Lakers don’t have a leader on their team despite having LeBron James, and Rajon Rondo will have a better upcoming season than Chris Paul.

Lucious Lyon Wtf GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

All his bad predictions beg the question: does ESPN truly believe Hollins is an insightful and talented sports analyst? Or are the jokes and publicity that come from Hollins’ ice cold takes enough to warrant him making frequent appearances on their headlining show? I would never truly question ESPN’s credibility so I will go with the former, but man, the ridiculous takes from this guy just keep on coming.

First Take is also a show known for its comedic appeal, especially coming from Smith and his reactions to Kellerman’s comments. Sports are about fun, and its talk shows should be the same. But fans still want to hear quality positions, facts, and measured-takes.

Please ESPN do us all a favor and put this lengthy, bounce-around-the-league, praying mantis looking-ass on a new parody show called “Worst Take,” but definitely don’t have him be the substitute for GOAT Stephen A. Smith on First Take. Come on man.

On behalf of every sports fan out there, please make a change ESPN, and in the words of Lebron James, “be better tomorrow.”