Stephen A. Smith is firing back at Jaylen Brown after the Boston Celtics star called him the "face of clickbait media" during a Twitch stream. Brown also called Smith a "clown," but the ESPN host used Monday's "First Take" to deliver a lengthy response.
"I'm not going to disrespect Jaylen Brown," Smith said. "He's pointing the finger in the wrong direction. Point it at yourself, bro."
The feud escalated after Smith criticized Brown for calling this past season, which ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, his favorite with the franchise. Brown responded by telling Smith to "be quiet."
"Did he just say I needed to be quiet? Be quiet for who?" Brown said Sunday night. "Man, f--- Stephen A. ... My offer still stands. You want me to be quiet and stop streaming, well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks because you're not using your platform to do real journalism. You're using your platform to use clickbait."
Smith doubled down, questioning Brown's judgment in calling a season that ended with Boston surrendering a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history his "favorite."
"The Boston Celtics, the most storied franchise in basketball annals, 18 championships. You helped deliver one of them just two years ago," Smith said. "Two years later, y'all surrender a 3-1 lead for the first time in its history ... with you driving the bus."
Smith ended with a warning: "You really want me to start reporting on that level? Locker room, how the organization might feel about you, how the city might feel about you, how Jayson Tatum may or may not feel about you."
The Celtics were eliminated after losing three straight games to the Sixers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, despite being the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 56-26 record.