Stephen A. Praises Jaylen Brown After 76ers-Celtics Trade, 'Revisiting the Criticism' in New Video

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith complimented Jaylen Brown after the he was reportedly traded from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

"I've got nothing against Jaylen Brown, Jaylen Brown is a good dude," Smith said in a video posted on his YouTube channel (6:04 mark). "Smart as hell, decent people. Just coming across as a bit sensitive, that's alright. But he's not a bad person, he's a good dude. All I said after they lost was that, 'You're a champion and an NBA Finals MVP. You cannot be saying that losing in the first round was your favorite season.' That's it. That's not a reason for him to be upset."

"Go back and look at the tapes, I've been nothing but complimentary about Jaylen Brown," he added. "Because he's a stud, he's an all-world player and he's gonna do wonders in the city of Philadelphia. Make no mistake about it, he's that dude. But I wasn't wrong."

The 76ers acquired Brown from the Celtics in exchange for Paul George, two first-round draft picks and two second-round picks.

Smith and Brown haven't seen eye-to-eye in the past, with a recent back-and-forth starting when the five-time All-Star said the 2025-26 season was his favorite year of his career on a Twitch stream.

Smith eventually called out Brown on First Take as a result, leading to a social media response.

Brown later called ESPN "unethical" and said Smith was the "head face of that," via USA Today's Mark Giannotto.

Smith responded shortly afterwards.

"He's getting on my last damn nerve, I ain't going to lie," Smith said. "I mean, he's so full of s--t I want to throw up. Suddenly we're unethical? Because we're telling you how your comments came across? No wonder your ass is in France. You can't deal with the heat here in America and justify the way that you've acted since you got bounced out of the playoffs. Nobody's done anything to you, Jaylen Brown."

While Smith didn't take back his initial comments regarding Brown, he still seems to hold the new 76ers star in high regard.