This is an unfiltered barbershop confession from These Guys 025. Sir Smoke admits he’s a Steph Curry hater. Not because Steph’s bad — because he keeps getting better
Unfiltered Rant
Episode 025 of These Guys isn’t a breakdown, it’s a barbershop confession. leans in and says the quiet part out loud: “I’m a hater.” Not a casual hater. A full Steph Curry hater. And not because Steph can’t hoop. Because he can, and he won’t stop getting better.
“Fuck you. Getting better ass nigga.” That’s the line that sets the whole episode on fire, and it’s Sir Smoke who says it.
What Happens in Episode 025: Steph
Sir Smoke owns it from the jump. He respects the resume but he can’t stand the arc. Steph went from unanimous MVP, to losing KD, to breaking his hand and watching the Warriors win 15 games, to coming all the way back in 2022 and winning it with the same core he started with.
El Uno doesn’t let him slide. El Uno is the cooler head here — he keeps bringing the receipts. Klay tore his ACL then his Achilles. Draymond was on a lottery team talking about losing his love for the game. They could’ve blown it up. Most teams do.
LeBron left Cleveland, left Miami, left Cleveland again. KD left OKC, left Golden State. That’s the modern NBA.
Steph didn’t. The Warriors took pay cuts, kept the band together, drafted young guys, and climbed back. El Uno’s point is simple: you don’t get to hate the shimmy and ignore the sacrifice.
Debate: Loyalty vs Legacy
This is why 025 hits. It’s not Steph vs LeBron on paper. It’s two codes we argue about every Saturday in the shop.
LeBron’s code: control your destiny, go where you can win, maximize your prime. It’s smart business.
Steph’s code: stay home, take the public L’s, trust your guys, bet on work over free agency. It’s romantic and it’s risky as hell.
Sir Smoke says what a lot of us feel: “Niggas took salary cuts to keep the team together.” That almost never happens now. That’s why he calls Steph that “light skinny shimmy ass” — because Steph makes loyalty look cool again, and it exposes everybody who ran.
Sir Smoke vs El Uno
Now it’s locked: Sir Smoke is fire, El Uno is ice.
Sir Smoke talks with his chest. He’s the cousin who stands up mid-debate, points at the screen, and says “nah” even when the numbers are right there. He hates Steph because Steph keeps making him eat his words.
El Uno doesn’t cape for Steph. He just remembers. He brings up the 3-1 comeback, KD leaving, the two years in the lottery, the 2022 Boston series where Steph averaged 31 and finally got Finals MVP. He’s not loud, he’s steady. That’s the balance.
Without Sir Smoke it’s a lecture. Without El Uno it’s just yelling.
Why We Hate the Guys Who Keep Getting Better
Every hood got a Steph. Wasn’t the most athletic at 15, but shot 500 threes after practice. By 28 he’s unguardable. The hate ain’t about basketball — it’s about mirrors.
Steph is light-skinned, baby face, does the shimmy, chews the mouthguard. Easy target. But he also rebuilt his ankles, rebuilt his body, learned to finish through bigs in his 30s. That’s annoying if you peaked at 22.
Sir Smoke naming that hate out loud is why These Guys works. Most podcasts fake objectivity. Sir Smoke says “I’m biased, and here’s my trauma.”
Why Steph’s 2022 Run Changed the Whole Argument
Before 2022 you could say “Steph needed KD.” After 2022 you can’t. He beat a younger, longer Celtics team with Klay coming off two major surgeries and Draymond as the anchor.
El Uno keeps circling back to that. It’s not just a fourth ring. It’s proof you can go from champion to chump to champion again without changing area codes. In this era, that’s almost impossible.
Learn more: https://www.thescore.com/news/22740380
Learn more: https://www.si.com/nba/2022/06/17/golden-state-warriors-stephen-curry-2022-nba-champions-daily-cover
Final Thought: Check Your Hater Energy
The real lesson in 025 isn’t about Steph or LeBron. It’s about Sir Smoke admitting the hate is personal.
Hating somebody for getting better is just being mad you stopped working. We all know a dude who leveled up while we made excuses. Instead of clapping, we call him lucky, system player, light-skinned — anything to protect our ego.
Sir Smoke said it so you don’t have to. Are you mad at Steph, or are you mad that he kept grinding through the broken-hand year, the lottery year, the “dynasty’s over” year — and you quit after your first bad season?
Watch the full episode. It’s loud, it’s funny, it’s disrespectful, and it’s exactly how real hoop talk sounds when nobody’s performing.
Watch Episode 025 now!!!