Jaylen Brown accused ESPN of acting “unethical” in how it covered his comments about the 2023-24 Celtics season, and he renewed his public feud with Stephen A. Smith during a France appearance. The exchange comes amid lingering trade talk after the Celtics’ fa
Jaylen Brown didn’t wait for a quiet moment.
During a recent event in France, Brown addressed ESPN and Stephen A. Smith in a short clip posted to social media Wednesday—one that reignited a feud built on old broadcast remarks, anonymous-source disputes, and the sting of postseason fallout.
In the 27-second video. Brown said he took “umbrage” with the way ESPN covered his comments about this past Celtics season being his favorite out of ten seasons in the NBA. He added, “The leader behind that was ESPN. ESPN is unethical,” and singled out the network’s on-air face. “Stephen A. Smith is the head face of that. but the organization. the players. they were all in agreement. they knew what I ment by that.”.
Brown also pointed to the Celtics’ roster upheaval. “Our team was basically all salary dumps. ” he said. adding. “We lost a lot of players.” He argued that if Boston emerged in the same position despite that disruption. the team had to “understand …” what mattered about how the season was being framed.
The specific spark for this round of pushback traces back to Brown saying throughout the season that this one was his favorite. After the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead to the 76ers in the first round, Brown said he faced pushback over what he meant.
His fight with Smith isn’t new. It goes back to 2024, when Smith reported that an anonymous source said Brown’s “I’m better than you” attitude affected how he was viewed and impacted his marketability. That thread—how Brown is portrayed and by whom—has remained a central issue for him.
Olympics disappointment only sharpened it. Brown was left off the U.S. men’s basketball team for the Olympics even though he led the Celtics to a championship and won Finals MVP that year. Instead, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday were picked over Brown.
Brown’s frustration was visible publicly even then. He wore a t-shirt that read “State Your Source” to the Celtics’ championship parade. Smith later interviewed Brown on ESPN, and Brown said his issue was with the use of anonymous sources, not Smith in particular.
But Brown said his view of the situation has shifted recently after Smith told him to “be quiet” following Brown’s comments about the favorite season.
Earlier. during an episode of his Twitch stream. Brown said “[expletive] Stephen A.” He also said he’ll be quiet when Smith resigns from ESPN. Smith responded on-air with a warning of his own: “Jaylen Brown, be careful what you wish for,” Smith said. “Do you really want me to start reporting on that level?”.
Brown’s reply came later. “Come on Stephen A, what are you, El Chapo?” Brown said on his Twitch stream. “You running the media cartel, my boy? Talking about ‘be careful.’”
Other media personalities joined the friction. Nick Wright, on FS1, called out Smith for threatening Brown while referring to the “mob boss” comment Wright made. Smith recorded an episode of the “Stephen A. Smith show” addressing the situation. He said he wasn’t telling Brown to shut up and dribble. and that his intention was to tell Brown that making those comments after the Celtics blew such a big lead against the 76ers was a bad idea. Smith also said Wright should be ashamed of himself for the “mob boss” comment.
The dispute has also spread into trade talk. After the Celtics’ bid to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo fell through, Smith made additional remarks about Brown. Boston’s trade package was centered around Brown and a pair of first-round picks.
During a recent episode of First Take. Smith said. “One of the things we’re not going to do. bro. is not going to let you sit around and act like you’e a victim.” He added. “We ain’t going to do that. We ain’t going to let Jaylen Brown get away with that. I heard what he said about people doubting him, creating a monster. Who did that this year?”.
Smith argued Brown didn’t face doubt in the way he implied. “We watched you carry a relatively no-name Boston Celtics squad to a No. 2 seed and 56 wins. We saw you do that,” Smith said. “We’ve given you nothing but praise. Where is all of this noise coming from about people doubting you?. No, bro. That’s not what this is, because there is nothing that about your game that anybody is saying.”.
Brown’s counter in recent remarks was that the trade rumors were turning him into “a monster” by adding fuel to his fire.
Off the microphone, Brown’s résumé has still turned heads. He finished sixth in the MVP voting and made his fifth All-Star team in six years.
The rumors have persisted even after the Antetokounmpo trade failed, with ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst saying he expects teams to wage a bidding war to pry Brown away from the Celtics.
Put together. the timing is hard to miss: a public feud over how Brown is portrayed. an insistence from Brown that the issue is not a person but “State Your Source. ” and a fresh round of criticism and pushback after the Celtics’ postseason letdown and a trade that never happened—each new chapter feeding the next.
And for Brown, the message he carried into the latest exchange was blunt. In France, he said it plainly: “ESPN is unethical,” and he tied the coverage to an organization and a roster reality he believes was being flattened for a story that didn’t fit what the season actually cost.
Jaylen Brown ESPN Stephen A. Smith Boston Celtics Giannis Antetokounmpo Olympics team Jayson Tatum Derrick White Jrue Holiday First Take Twitch stream First round vs. 76ers