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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Jaylen Brown made headlines earlier this week while speaking at the Cannes Lions conference in France, where he blasted ESPN and specifically targeted Stephen A. Smith. The Boston Celtics star called ESPN "unethical" and described Smith as the "face" of that culture, arguing that his post-playoff comments had been intentionally twisted by media outlets.
Brown insisted that the Celtics players and team officials understood exactly what he meant when he called the 2025-26 season his "favorite season" despite Boston's first-round collapse. He pointed to the Celtics' losses in the offseason and what he described as the team being "salary dumped," saying the group overcame significant adversity just to remain competitive.
On Thursday, Smith fired back on "First Take," calling Brown's comments "pathetic" and accusing him of acting like a child.
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"It's really pathetic. I don’t think it’s an accident he went out of the country spewing that nonsense because we’re all tired of hearing from him here," Smith said. "I can't believe what he has tried to make this into ... I want to remind everybody that all of this is because Jaylen Brown, a champion, a NBA Finals MVP, and this year, a top candidate for league MVP honors, lost a 3-1 lead in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers and went on the air less than 24 hours later and called it his favorite season … This is about a grown [expletive] man, acting like a child."
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This feud between Brown and Smith stretches back weeks. After Boston's stunning collapse against the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, losing the last three straight games (two at home) after holding a 3-1 series lead, Brown surprised many by going on a Twitch live stream and saying it was his favorite season.
Brown explained his side of it, but analysts like Smith still criticized him as sounding tone-deaf after such an embarrassing playoff loss. Others, meanwhile, saw it as a way for him to essentially imply he may want his own team after enjoying a career year in a season largely without Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.
The two have traded shots ever since.
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Adding fuel to the controversy is the fact that Brown's days in Boston appear to be numbered. Rumors have been swirling for weeks, and analysts have recently even gone as far as to say that a trade is inevitable at this point.
Teams like the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Atlanta Hawks have all been linked to the former Finals MVP, with many expecting the Celtics star to get dealt at any moment.
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