Jaylen Brown‘s recent Twitch crash-out drew mixed reactions. Some say he is being brave for calling out what few players have the courage to. Most, however, believe it’s poor sportsmanship or sour-graping, because it wasn’t even 24 hours after they blew a 3-1 lead and lost Game 7 that he started talking about the NBA’s biased officiating.
Well, the NBA fined Brown $50K for his stunt. But JB was defiant and doubled down on his criticism with another Twitch live stream. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went on a rant against Brown on Thursday’s edition of “First Take” and told him to be quiet and enjoy his vacation. Jaylen replied by tweeting that he would stop streaming if Smith would retire, too.
There’s a history between Brown and Smith
Much has been going on between Brown and Smith over the year. A couple of years back, they bickered after Stephen A. claimed that an unnamed source told him that Jaylen isn’t marketable, arrogant, and has an attitude problem. Brown called it lies and asked him to state his source, but Smith insisted he would never blow the cover of the folks feeding him reports.
They seemed to have kissed and made up when Brown guested on Smith’s show in 2024. Smith even wore JB’s “State your source” t-shirt and gave him a pair of his then newly released 741 signature shoe.
But after Smith criticized him a couple of days ago, saying the Celtics lost Game 7 not because of controversial calls but because they played dumb basketball down the stretch, this was bound to happen. Smith telling Brown to shut up was the boiling point.
“This is his favorite year? They got knocked off in the first round…The year that Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles is your favorite year?” he added. “The year that Jayson Tatum had to sit out this pivotal Game 7 because of injury, that’s your favorite year?”
“You’re the only superstar in the Boston Celtics who lost a 3-1 lead, and that’s your favorite year? The first order of business is that he needs to be quiet, go on a vacation, unless you’re trying to get traded,” said Smith on “First Take.”
Fans are fed up with Stephen A. Smith’s style
Stephen A. used to be one of the most popular sports analysts on TV. It’s why ESPN recently gave him a reported $100 million contract. But Smith has lost his appeal with fans because of his main-character syndrome, in which he overshadows the players he is supposed to cover by always making his discussions about himself.
In particular, many do not like how he turned his LeBron James critiquing into a personal crusade and obsession after James confronted him courtside at a Lakers game for his unfair attacks on LeBron’s son, Bronny.
Since then, Smith has gone non-stop on James, to the point that viewers have had enough of him. He also drew flak during last year’s NBA Finals when he was caught playing solitaire on his mobile phone while Game 4 was underway.
To be fair, Smith is correct that it wasn’t a good look for him to criticize officiating immediately after blowing a 3-1 lead. However, telling JB to stop criticizing referees is hypocritical because he has not stopped talking about LeBron either, even after saying he would no longer talk about him.
Everybody has the right and a space now to express their thoughts. If Brown is fine with paying the fines, who cares? But Jaylen telling Stephen A. to retire was a gem. It’s something many want to say but don’t have the guts to say because of Smith’s clout.
About the author
Shane Garry Acedera
Sr. NBA Writer at Basketball Network