The NBA Playoffs have reached the conference finals, but the real excitement seems to be happening off the court.
After ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith took multiple shots at Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, the five-time All-Star unloaded with a lengthy Twitch rant on Sunday, May 17, that included him saying, “f*** Stephen A., Stephen B., Stephen C.”
Earlier this month, Smith, 58, told Brown, 29, to “be quiet” after he criticized the league’s officiating. Brown took to X in response, writing, “I’ll ‘be quiet’ [or] stop streaming if you ‘be quiet’ and retire. Let’s give the people what they want.”
On Sunday, Brown unleashed a tirade against Smith, First Take and Smith’s brand of journalism.
“Tell this motherf***** to retire, because he’s the face of clickbait media,” Brown said. “And maybe with his retirement, we could spark a movement to get the rest of these motherf*****s out of here. Or to also have some type of, forget journalistic integrity, actual integrity in order to hold themselves accountable to the bulls*** takes they put out…Just for the sake of just pushing a weak narrative. Just purely out of that.”
Brown then played a clip from First Take where Smith questioned why Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum hadn’t appeared on Brown’s Twitch streams, seeming to imply that Tatum, 28, was upset with him.
“What type of journalism is this?” Brown asked. “Jayson Tatum hasn’t been on my stream, and this is what we’re talking about on First Take? What if [Tatum] just don’t like being somewhere in an uncontrolled environment? Why are you doing journalism on me having guests on my stream? And this is a part of the reason why I started streaming. This is a part of the reason why people use the term ‘clown,’ and it synchronizes with someone like Stephen A. Smith. Because this is what you’re using your platform for.”
Brown continued the clip, which showed Smith blasting him for saying that 2025-26 was his favorite season in the pros, despite the Celtics blowing a 3-1 lead in their first round playoff series.
“This is a narrative that he’s creating. This isn’t journalism.” Brown said. “This is him making his own opinion and formulizing it about what I have to say, on his platform.”
He then listed other reasons why this was his favorite season, including the team exceeding preseason expectations and watching younger Celtics players come into their own in the NBA.
“My offer still stands,” Brown continued. “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 responded to Brown’s rant during the Monday, May 18, episode of First Take.
“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 feel about you? Sneaker deals? Endorsement deals? The list goes on and on. The season is over, bro. You are on Twitch, doing what I do and talking about me needing to step away. It makes no sense.”
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