Stephen A. Smith’s nephew Josh goes scorched earth on Jaylen Brown amid petty beef

Stephen A. Smith’s nephew, Josh Smith, took a big swing at Jaylen Brown following the Knicks’ qualification to the NBA Finals. New York punched their ticket to the Finals following a 130-93 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.

Shortly after the Knicks’ victory, Josh Smith shared a video on his Instagram account. In the video, Stephen A. Smith’s nephew showered the Celtics star with insults.

“Jaylen Brown, change your f****** name, there is only one Jalen in this Eastern Conference, you bum a**,” he said.

“F*** Jaylen Brown, Jaylen Black, Jaylen Pink and f*** that s*** you’ve been putting in your head too.”

Jaylen Brown and Stephen A. Smith have been involved in a beef that started during the 2026 playoffs. On May. 6, Smith called out the Celtics star for naming the time without Jayson Tatum as his favorite this season. He told Brown to be quiet if he did not want to be traded.

The following day, the Celtics star fired back at the “First Take” host on his Twitch livestream. He told Smith to retire from sports journalism if he wanted him to be quiet. Later, the Celtics star accused Smith of not being a true journalist.

Jaylen Brown challenges Stephen A. Smith to a live debate

On May. 18, Stephen A. Smith responded to Jaylen Brown calling him out on his professional responsibilities. He warned the Celtics star not to provoke him. On Monday, Brown reacted to Smith’s comment on his livestream.

He challenged the “First Take” host to a live debate at Harvard or MIT.

“Stephen A., here’s my proposal: Why don’t we have a live audience debate, traditional media versus us athletes?” he said. “And let’s do a live debate in front of a live-streamed audience at a mutual location like Harvard or MIT. And let’s talk about it. Let’s see who comes out on top. Should be easy. Should be a piece of cake.”

“Mainstream traditional media versus the athlete. Let’s set it up. Harvard, MIT, live and let’s see who comes out on top. You know where to find me.”

Stephen A. Smith has not yet responded to the Celtics star’s proposal. Brown had one of the best runs of his career this season. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game on 47.7% shooting. He finished in sixth place in the MVP race.

Edited by Avi Shravan