MONICA McNutt has made a shock return to First Take following her battle with Stephen A. Smith.
McNutt hasn’t appeared on First Take since challenging Stephen A. in a WNBA debate, but the ESPN analyst is finally back.
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First Take had one of the strangest episodes in the show’s history after McNutt challenged Stephen A. head-on over his WNBA coverage.
Stephen A. stated that no one on TV talks about the WNBA more than First Take.
“Who talks more about the WNBA, who talks more about women’s sports than First Take?” Stephen A. said.
McNutt did not dispute that fact, but said Stephen A. could have talked about the league years earlier.
“Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform, you could have been doing this three years ago if you wanted,” McNutt said.
The entire cast of the show was surprised by the comment, and Stephen A. could only say “wow.”
“You’re my guy,” McNutt said.
“But I’m talking to you.”
“You’re my girl,” Smith replied.
“But you missed too many episodes of First Take.”
After this episode, McNutt was absent from the show for two weeks after being a regular guest on First Take.
She continued her duties on Get Up in the pre-First Take slot, but never appeared alongside Stephen A.
Things changed on Tuesday when McNutt made a triumphant return while the ESPN show discussed the NBA Finals.
She joined Stephen A. to discuss where the Celtics stand in terms of the NBA’s biggest franchises.
First look at the numbers
First Take has grown from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim over the past year.
ESPN’s weekday debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 – making it the most-watched year in the program’s history.
Its December average of 611,000 represented a 24% annual increase compared to 2022.
The show has also recorded more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
Stephen A. stated that the Lakers still hold the title of the NBA’s greatest franchise, but McNutt disagreed.
She stated that it should just be about trophies, and since the Celtics have the most rings now, they should be the best.
Although McNutt and Stephen A. had a tense argument weeks ago, they were civil this time.
The two continued with some fun debates later in the show and shared smiles and some laughs throughout the episode.
It looks like the feud could be squashed and McNutt could return to regular appearances on First Take.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
