Stephen A. Smith has engaged in plenty of back-and-forths with NBA stars in recent years and is now at it with Jaylen Brown. Smith has been on the receiving end of some major shots from Brown in May, and he sent a warning to the Boston Celtics star on First Take on Monday.
“Jaylen Brown, be careful what you wish for,” Smith said. “You really want me to start reporting on that level? Locker room, how the organization might think about you, how the city may feel about you, how Jayson Tatum may or may not have feel about you, sneaker deals, endorsement deals, the list goes on and on. The season is over, bro.
“You on Twitch trying to do what I do and talking about me needing to step away,” Smith stated. “It makes no sense. I’m not being disrespectful. I’m simply making the point that it is not wise, after 24 hours of having your season over in the first round, for you to be coming out talking about that’s your favorite season. It ain’t the smartest thing in the world to do.
“I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful,” Smith continued. “I was trying to sit up there and look out by letting you know this is not a good look… And I would have respected Jaylen Brown more, [Kendrick Perkins], Jay [Williams], had he come at y’all, had he come at everybody who said exactly what I was saying.
“But evidently, when you talking about clickbait and all of that stuff, somebody told you one of the best ways to get it is to bring up my name,” Smith added. “And that’s what you did. So, who’s really looking for clickbait? Is it me? Or is it you? And obviously, you would think you wouldn’t need it. $304 million, NBA player. You don’t need it. What you doing it for?”
Well, Smith just tried to flip everything over there. It will be interesting to see what Brown has to say about this. As for what he has said so far, there’s a lot.
Issues between these two began after Smith reacted to Brown’s comments following the Celtics’ elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the team blowing a 3-1 lead as the East’s second seed, the five-time All-Star said on his Twitch stream that this season was the favorite of his career, a day after the 76ers knocked them out.
Smith, like many, couldn’t quite believe what Brown had said. Sure, the 29-year-old played incredibly well and led the Celtics to 56 wins when no one saw them getting close to 50, but the campaign had ended on such a terrible note. This was the first time they had blown a 3-1 lead in franchise history.
The Celtics are also all about championships. Brown had played a big part in them winning their record-breaking 18th title in 2024, and you’d have thought that would be his favorite. But no, it’s this one. Now, Brown’s point was about the team sticking together and defying the odds and whatnot, but it still wasn’t a good look. He should have known that as well.
What made Brown’s comments come across even worse than usual was that the Celtics were without Jayson Tatum for much of the season. Tatum’s absence, as he recovered from a torn Achilles tendon, was what allowed his co-star to take center stage and ultimately finish sixth in MVP voting in 2026.
This was some of what Smith brought up on First Take back then when he reacted to Brown’s comments. The analyst wrapped things up by saying that he needs to be quiet. Brown responded by saying he’d keep quiet if Smith gave the people what they wanted by retiring.
Smith had also hinted at tensions between Tatum and Brown back then by pointing out that the former had appeared on First Take, but not on the latter’s stream. That comment was focused on in the latest shots that were fired.
Brown accused Smith of not using his platform for real journalism. He termed him the face of clickbait media and again called for him to retire. Smith isn’t going anywhere, though, and has warned Brown that it won’t end well for him if he keeps firing shots.
