BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown and ESPN speaking head Stephen A. Smith have been exchanging blows on-line and within the media for years now. And whereas that they had a short lived truce following the Celtics’ 2024 title run, through which Brown was named NBA Finals MVP, that interval of peace is lengthy gone.
After the Celtics had been bounced from the 2026 NBA Playoffs within the first spherical by the rival Philadelphia 76ers, Brown went on his Twitch stream, as he is executed all 12 months, to debate the defeat. Smith, who is thought for his sizzling takes on ESPN, criticized Brown for going reside following the Green Team’s Game 7 loss in early May.
The longest-tenured Celtic wasn’t a fan of Smith’s words, telling the basketball pundit that he ought to retire with a purpose to “give the people what they want.” Smith then responded on his present, “First Take,” and took a shot on the five-time All-Star’s relationship with Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum, mentioning how Tatum has been on his program earlier than however not on stream with Brown.
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Of course, Brown wasn’t going to let that petty remark go unnoticed. During a Sunday night time Twitch stream Brown questioned the relevancy of Tatum’s media actions and later ripped into Smith.
“What type of journalism is this?” Brown requested. “Jayson Tatum hasn’t been on my stream, and this is what we’re talking about on ‘First Take’? What if JT just don’t like being somewhere in an uncontrolled environment?”
The Celtics’ franchise cornerstone additionally had some extra colourful language for Smith that does not want repeating. The message was clear: Smith represents the “clickbait media” that made Brown begin streaming within the first place.
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“With the media, it’s just kind of ‘clickbaity’ for the most part, controversy is what sells,” Brown informed reporters earlier than the 2025-26 season began. “Everything is just about controversy and clicks and sales, rather than actual storytelling and journalism. So, I just took matters into my own hands.”
By streaming, Brown is making an attempt to regulate the media narratives surrounding him. However, Twitch is constructed for clips and most of its content material finally ends up being taken out of context anyhow, so Brown’s chats with hundreds of viewers have not all the time achieved the supposed end result.
Regardless, it does not sound like Brown is stopping his streams anytime quickly. He’ll continue to wage war on Smith and others that use his title for cash and anticipate him to remain silent by all of it.
“You want me to be quiet and stop streaming, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks,” Brown asserted. “You’re not doing real journalism, you’re using your platform to do clickbait.”
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This article initially appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics star Jaylen Brown and Stephen A. Smith still feuding on Twitch, TV