Nick Wright appears to be becoming a villain for Phoenix Suns fans.
The Fox Sports TV personality has irked some NBA fans, and fans of Phoenix’s NBA franchise, with his takes about Chris Paul, Luka Doncic and the Suns vs. Dallas Mavericks series in recent days.
And he has taken to Twitter to double down on his comments.
Wright, who appears on FS1’s First Things First Show, took to social media Thursday to respond to criticism from Suns fans and to call out the Phoenix media for its criticism of his takes.
Suns fans and media members seemed to not particularly like his take criticizing the way the Suns are winning against the Mavericks and they had taken to social media Thursday to express their dislike of Wright’s opinion.
“It’s almost a little unfair what they’re doing,” Wright said of the Suns on Thursday’s First Things First show. “These constant pick and rolls, the constant targeting. I would just say, if you’re truly the best team in basketball, beat them straight up, not with this gimmicky stuff, but that’s what they’re doing.”
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Later Thursday, Wright reinforced his take:
“HIGHLY gimmicky,” he tweeted about Paul and the Suns. “A truly great player, such as LeBron, would never pick out and target an obviously inferior defensive player but a transcendent offensive player, such as, say Steph Curry, and put him in repeated pick and rolls in the playoffs. It would never happen! !! Unfair! “
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Social media slammed Wright for his take, with Fox Sports Radio’s Doug Gottlieb even responding.
Wright, however, was not done.
He called out Phoenix media for the way it was criticizing his opinion in a couple of tweets.
One said: “Local sports media once was the biggest critics of local teams. A constant pain in the ass for the local GM or HC. Now, in some markets, they’re simply grown cheerleaders, rallying the troops at anyone who won ‘t call their guy or team the best. Now! “
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Another read: “Back when I did local radio, we not only could detect obvious sarcasm from the national media, but we also weren’t so clearly, obviously & painfully in the tank for our local teams. My how times have changed! At least they have in Phoenix & Denver. “
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This isn’t the first time that Wright’s comments have riled up the Phoenix NBA community.
During Game 1, a game that Phoenix won 121-114, Wright tweeted: “Mavs should feel fine. Suns have no answer for Luka. Phoenix got every rebound & hit 3 desperation end-of-shot clock shots in the 2nd half that killed any comeback attempt. This series is going the distance, and I like Luka’s chances at the end of it. “
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Wright doubled down on that take as well on his show after Game 1 on Tuesday morning, saying that “Chris Paul is shook and rightfully so.”
“This is that first series in years Chris Paul is not the best point guard in the series and he knows it,” Wright said. “And Chris Paul also understands the Suns are the better team. The Suns have the home court. The Suns have the better roster. The Suns might have the better coach. And that’s the exact scenario that led to the Suns losing the finals because a transcendent , peak of his powers apex predator took the championship from them.
“And when Luka Doncic goes 45, 12, and eight and seems to have left some meat on the bone offensively. Did it despite Jae Crowder going full Chris Paul and kicking him in the groin mid-game. Does it despite the fact that Jalen Brunson can’t make a basket to save his life.When all that happens, Chris Paul, he’s not throwing out Theo Pinson’s name for no reason.He’s doing it because he’s trying to play some mind games that won’t work with the Dallas Mavericks… This series is going to be a war. This series is going to go seven games. And Chris Paul knows he will have his hands full.… “
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The criticism of Wright’s comments continues to swirl on social media, prompting a couple of questions.
What will Wright say about the Suns next… and how will Phoenix fans respond?
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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