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By Matthew Couden
Contributing Writer
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The well-known public feud between Stephen A. Smith and Jaylen Brown took an interesting turn, as the ESPN star actually came to the defense of the Boston Celtics star, after an insider's surprising comments.
Smith's ESPN colleague, NBA insider Bobby Marks, indicated he'd spoken to an analytics guy who said they saw Brown as the seventh-best player on an NBA team's roster. Obviously, that statement is ridiculous based on Brown's resume, regardless of the offseason remarks he made that raised eyebrows and got Smith into a beef with him.
However, Smith saw a post about Marks' insider comment circulating on X and had to call it out, tagging his colleague and Brown in the message.
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"Now this is utterly ridiculous. I have no doubt that @BobbyMarks42 was told what he said he was told (He’s incredible at what he does) — but there is no way in hell @FCHWPO is the 7th-best player on any team in the NBA. He may be the best 2-way player in the league. Yes, it’s me saying this. Folks be on some b.s. Stop It!" Smith wrote in his message.
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Many fans agreed with Smith, calling out the analyst's comment and suggesting it was extremely inaccurate. Some suggested the analyst's remark was an attempt to diminish the Celtics star's value in the league.
"Ask him to site his analytics guy and publish the report , bunch of garbage to bring down a player this caliber. I don’t even like Celtics," one X commenter replied.
"Man even Bobby marks know that’s bs!! So why even report it? I get it’s his job but come on now 7Th best player on any team," another X commenter wrote.
Someone replied to Smith, "Oh….now you’re trying to play kiss [expletive] after he called you out as unethical. Get out of here."
For weeks after the Celtics' exit from the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Smith and Brown were engaged in a back-and-forth, involving live-stream remarks from Brown, criticism from Smith on ESPN, and social media jabs between the two of them.
A lot of it started with Brown's remarks about this past Celtics season being his favorite year, due to having to lead a group of players to succeed after criticism that Boston would struggle and have a horrible record.
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However, many viewed his remark as a potential sign that Brown liked being the top star on the team since Jayson Tatum was out of action for all but 16 games in a season in which the Celtics achieved the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The various comments between Smith and Brown arrived as reports swirled that the Celtics were among the top suitors to potentially land former Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade. The Miami Heat ultimately traded for Giannis earlier this week, but there's still speculation that the Celtics are looking to move Brown, as ESPN's Shams Charania reported the team is "actively engaged" in trade talks.
Brown was named NBA Finals MVP in 2024 when the Celtics won the championship. He was among the NBA MVP candidates this past season due to leading the Celtics as he did.
While that analyst's "seventh-best" comment is clearly wrong, Smith's X message defending Brown and tagging him appears like he wants to save face with the Celtics star rather than continue the back-and-forth with him. However, that could change, as he'll likely continue discussing Brown and the situation with Boston on ESPN.
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