Jaylen Brown winning back hearts by going after famously obnoxious Knicks fan

Since bowing out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion, Jaylen Brown has been all over the news. There have been countless clips and spin zones from his quotes on his Twitch streams, there have been rumors of his frustration with the Celtics coming from his friend and mentor, Tracy McGrady, and there have been swirling trade rumors as well.

Whether he has actually done or said anything out of line is open to interpretation, but fair or not, given the timing, he hasn’t exactly been endearing himself to Celtics fans this week.

But hopefully, those tides are shifting back in his favor. He did a follow-up stream on Wednesday night, iterating multiple times that he loves Boston and would remain here for his career, if possible, while explaining some of his other statements that created controversy.

Jaylen Brown takes shot at Stephen A. Smith

Then, on Thursday, Brown earned lots of brownie points, not just from Celtics fans, but fans from all around the NBA and beyond, when he ruthlessly went after the loud-mouthed co-host of ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith.

Smith, an unapologetic, diehard Knicks fan, was discussing Brown’s recent comments with Kendrick Perkins and Michael Wilbon, and ripped Jaylen apart for saying this was his favorite year playing, despite Jayson Tatum missing with an achilles injury and the team blowing a 3-1 lead in round one of the playoffs.

The full segment was posted on the official First Take Twitter page, ending with Smith stating, “The first order of business is that he needs to be quiet… Unless you’re trying to get traded.” 

In typical Jaylen Brown fashion, he clapped back at the three hot-take spewing trolls, specifically Smith, with a quote tweet, “I’ll “be quiet” / stop streaming if you “be quiet” and retire let’s give the people what they want”.

All Celtics fans can get behind Brown going at Stephen A.

Perk and Wilbon aren’t innocent, but Smith is the worst of the worst, and the irony of him telling anyone to be quiet shouldn’t be lost on people. Celtics fans can disagree about Brown’s recent actions and statements, and even his place in the organization going forward, but I think everyone can agree with him on this one and get behind this response.

Most can (and have) only dream of calling out a blowhard like Stephen A. in a public forum with so much reach, and it clearly struck a nerve because Smith responded with some long-winded nonsense.

But the point is clear. Those who actually care to listen to Brown and apply context understand what he was saying and why. Those who just want to take quotes out of context for engagement, like Smith, will never understand - perhaps even willingly. And that’s fine. This is just who Stephen A. is and what he does. To steal another line from JB on behalf of Celtics Nation, “stay on that side”.

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