Stephen A. Smith has not shied away from attacking players over the years. The famed — and definitely controversial — analyst has even gone after LeBron James, the biggest personality in the league, accusing him of making things difficult for his son, Bronny, by getting him to the Lakers. It irreparably damaged the relationship between them. So, beef with Jaylen Brown doesn’t appear all that surprising as far as Smith’s antics are concerned, and the Celtics star decided to take another blow at him earlier this week.

Speaking at Sports Beach in Cannes, Brown asserted. “The leader behind that was ESPN,” he said. “ESPN is unethical, and Stephen A. Smith is the head face of that. But the organisation, the players – they were all in agreement. They all knew what I meant by that.”

Brown’s comment comes at an interesting time. Smith signed a five-year, $100 million contract with ESPN last March. This truly made him one of the richest and most powerful people in sports broadcasting. And Brown has come after him several times over the past few months, questioning both his and ESPN’s integrity as a whole.

The feud between Brown and Smith escalated when the analyst called out the 2024 Finals MVP for hosting a Twitch livestream after the Celtics’ first-round playoff exit to the Philadelphia 76ers in May. He stated it wasn’t a “good look”.

“F–k Stephen A,” Brown replied on his live stream. “Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C. Like 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.”

Smith fired back that Brown should “be quiet” unless he’s trying to force a trade out of Boston. It was a real power move, with Smith further warning the Celtics forward that he could make life extremely difficult for him.

“Jaylen Brown, be careful what you wish for,” he said on ESPN. “You really want me to start reporting on that level? You understand? 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 $100 million man seemed ready to take the fight to Brown. Smith is threatening to use behind-the-scenes information and selective leaks as leverage against him. And it’s not even the first time he has gone after a star so aggressively. Kevin Durant, who isn’t known for backing down either, called Smith a liar back in 2015. Responding on First Take, Smith chillingly warned Durant not to provoke him.

“You do not want to make an enemy out of me. And I’m looking right into the camera, and I’m going to say it again. You do not want to make an enemy out of me,” Smith said. Brown would have heard that, and he must have taken care not to attack the man personally.

The Cannes comments marked the first time Brown has moved from Smith personally to ESPN as an organisation, and claimed his teammates privately agree with him. Although he previously called out ESPN over reports by the network that he and the C’s front office were having a cold war over his trade situation.

A Feud That Has Already Defined the Offseason

The most-shared moment of the entire saga came when Brown opened his Twitch stream, pulled up First Take clips in real time, and told his audience: “Tell this motherf***er to retire, because he’s the face of clickbait media.” Brown later proposed settling things on a debate stage at a school like Harvard or MIT, saying, “Traditional vs. untraditional. Mainstream media vs. the dumb jock. Let’s see who comes out on top.”

Smith’s response was, “The season is over, bro. You’re on Twitch trying to do what I do.” Smith later mocked the production value of Brown’s streams, asserting that a player earning $54 million a year had little excuse for streaming from what he described as a “dungeon-like” setting, suggesting Brown invest in a proper studio with a director and producer.

Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn and several other Boston-based media voices have sided with Smith, agreeing that an hours-long stream complaining about officiating after a playoff exit, which Brown was doing after the 76ers loss, “is not a good look.” 

Whether Smith can actually damage Brown’s image or career remains to be seen. So far, he has issued threats, with one of his most personal attacks being directed at former No. 1 draft pick Kwame Brown, whom he repeatedly referred to as a “bona fide scrub.” Brown later said in 2021 that the criticism damaged his public image, hurting both his marketability and confidence.

Smith acknowledged his mistake and even apologized to Brown in 2021. So, it’s unlikely that he will take a similar approach with Jaylen.