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Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Most controversial opinion.

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award has run in 186 episodes. The most recent 40 are listed below — open any episode at its timestamp to hear the segment.

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‘Apollo 13’Amanda Dobbins

She would trade both of Tom Hanks's Oscars for one Oscar for his Apollo 13 performance, which she calls his best and most essential performance.

‘Apollo 13’Bill Simmons

Cast Away is actually Hanks's best performance, harder than Apollo 13 since he had to carry the film alone for over an hour.

‘Apollo 13’Craig Horlbeck

His favorite Hanks performance/movie isn't any of the acclaimed dramas — it's Sleepless in Seattle.

‘Apollo 13’Rob Mahoney

Apollo 13 is much better than Philadelphia, and Hanks's performance in it is better (though subtler) than his Oscar-winning Philadelphia performance.

‘Speed’Bill Simmons

They should have just let the bus blow up — 18 lives lost is a better trade-off than $7 billion in damage caused by trying to save it.

‘About Last Night’Bill Simmons

Called it a good hottest take, but pushed back somewhat, noting John's Animal House performance was uniquely funny even if John never carried a movie like Jim does here

‘About Last Night’Chris Ryan

Jim Belushi is funnier than John Belushi has ever been in a movie

‘The Italian Job’Bill Simmons

The Italian Job (2003) basically supercharged/set the template for the Fast & Furious franchise from Fast Four onward — the crew-assembling, heist, and stunt DNA all traces back to this movie.

‘The Italian Job’Craig Horlbeck

All the heists in the movie are in the wrong order and they featured the wrong one: the Venice heist — by far the coolest, and the actual 'Italian job' — should have ended the movie, and the LA finale they chose was the least interesting heist.

‘Obsession’Bill Simmons

If Timothée Chalamet plays Bear (in a Bear vs. wilderness/horror scenario referencing Revenant-style survival), it would be the greatest horror movie of all time; also jokes he could keep casting Chalamet in everything instead of more Dune movies

‘Obsession’Chris Ryan

Bear never actually loved Nicky — he only falls for her when she rejects him (cracks the wish), revealing he was never emotionally committed to her even after 'damning' her

‘Obsession’Joanna Robinson

Nicky doesn't deserve what happens to her, but it's suspicious/telling that she has no real friend network to intervene in her life ('like an Aaron Rodgers thing, no one knows this girl')

Episode	Host	Answer
‘Apollo 13’	Amanda Dobbins	She would trade both of Tom Hanks's Oscars for one Oscar for his Apollo 13 performance, which she calls his best and most essential performance.
‘Apollo 13’	Bill Simmons	Cast Away is actually Hanks's best performance, harder than Apollo 13 since he had to carry the film alone for over an hour.
‘Apollo 13’	Craig Horlbeck	His favorite Hanks performance/movie isn't any of the acclaimed dramas — it's Sleepless in Seattle.
‘Apollo 13’	Rob Mahoney	Apollo 13 is much better than Philadelphia, and Hanks's performance in it is better (though subtler) than his Oscar-winning Philadelphia performance.
‘Speed’	Bill Simmons	They should have just let the bus blow up — 18 lives lost is a better trade-off than $7 billion in damage caused by trying to save it.
‘About Last Night’	Bill Simmons	Called it a good hottest take, but pushed back somewhat, noting John's Animal House performance was uniquely funny even if John never carried a movie like Jim does here
‘About Last Night’	Chris Ryan	Jim Belushi is funnier than John Belushi has ever been in a movie
‘The Italian Job’	Bill Simmons	The Italian Job (2003) basically supercharged/set the template for the Fast & Furious franchise from Fast Four onward — the crew-assembling, heist, and stunt DNA all traces back to this movie.
‘The Italian Job’	Craig Horlbeck	All the heists in the movie are in the wrong order and they featured the wrong one: the Venice heist — by far the coolest, and the actual 'Italian job' — should have ended the movie, and the LA finale they chose was the least interesting heist.
‘Obsession’	Bill Simmons	If Timothée Chalamet plays Bear (in a Bear vs. wilderness/horror scenario referencing Revenant-style survival), it would be the greatest horror movie of all time; also jokes he could keep casting Chalamet in everything instead of more Dune movies
‘Obsession’	Chris Ryan	Bear never actually loved Nicky — he only falls for her when she rejects him (cracks the wish), revealing he was never emotionally committed to her even after 'damning' her
‘Obsession’	Joanna Robinson	Nicky doesn't deserve what happens to her, but it's suspicious/telling that she has no real friend network to intervene in her life ('like an Aaron Rodgers thing, no one knows this girl')