Nick Wright used a May 19 podcast monologue to blast Stephen A. Smith’s behavior in a growing feud tied to Jaylen Brown’s Twitch comments after the Boston Celtics’ playoff exit. The dispute traces back to Smith criticizing Brown’s livestream and escalating thr
When the Boston Celtics were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs on May 2, it should have ended the season for Jaylen Brown.
Instead, less than 24 hours later, Brown livestreamed a post-mortem on Twitch. In that stream, Brown called it his “favorite year” of his basketball career, while also directing criticism toward the referees. The NBA fined Brown $50,000, but the story didn’t stop there.
The fallout then swerved into a separate, increasingly personal fight involving ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. The chain of events began after Smith blasted Brown for his original Twitch stream. Brown then told Smith to retire. From there. the two kept going back and forth—Smith taking shots from his “First Take” perch. and at points even threatening to do “real reporting” on how the Celtics feel about Brown.
By May 19, FS1’s “First Things First” host Nick Wright was done watching it play out the same way. In a 15-minute monologue on the May 19 episode of his “What’s Wright?” podcast. Wright argued that Smith has behaved “ridiculously” throughout the feud and said Smith should report what he knows. if anything. rather than threaten to use information he claims to have.
Smith didn’t let the criticism stand.
In response to Wright, Stephen A. Smith said he “knows better” than to come at him and insinuated that Wright went after Smith on behalf of LeBron James. Smith added, “He should be ashamed of himself, but I’ll leave it alone,” in the moment Wright highlighted on his social media post.
Wright shot back again. posting on X: “I’ve never seen someone’s defense be simply repeating the exact behavior they’re being criticized for. ‘I KNOW (waves hands) THINGS ABOUT YOU, TOO!. I won’t say them, and they’re total figments of my imagination… but I KNOW THINGS!. I’ll leave it at that!’ 10 out of 10. No notes.”.
The timing has made the feud feel less like a sports disagreement and more like a loop that keeps tightening. Brown’s Twitch livestream. the NBA’s $50. 000 fine. and Smith’s on-air attacks all happened in rapid succession after a first-round exit—then the public back-and-forth turned into something the two hosts and the NFL-style microphone culture around them can’t seem to put down.
And even after Wright and Smith traded fresh blows, the confrontation still didn’t resolve. It now reads like a saga that’s expanded beyond basketball into how TV talent challenges each other, with accusations and counteraccusations landing in front of millions—before the next punchline arrives.
Nick Wright Stephen A. Smith Jaylen Brown Twitch NBA fines Boston Celtics Philadelphia 76ers First Take First Things First What's Wright podcast