STEPHEN A. SMITH DOESN'T WANT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AT MADDISON SQUARE GARDEN | NBA FINALS 2026

 

STEPHEN A. SMITH SAYS JALEN BRUNSON 'SHOULD.BE ARRESTED' AFTER GAME 1

Stephen A. Smith reacted strongly to Jalen Brunson's dominant finish in the New York Knicks comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. After Brunson scored 38 points and led New York back from a 22-point deficit, Smith said the Knicks star "should be arrested" for the way he attacked James Harden late in the game

Credit Getty Images/Scanpix

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith had a strong reaction to Jalen Brunson performance after the New York Knicks pulled off a stunning comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Knicks erased a 22-point deficit and defeated Cleveland 115-104 in overtime at Madison Square Garden after finishing regulation on a huge 18-1 run.

Following the game, Stephen A. Smith praised Brunson for taking over in crunch time and attacking Cleveland star James Harden possession after possession.

"Jalen Brunson goes ballistic and literally should be arrested for the assault that he put on James Harden," he said on ESPN's SportsCenter. "Just abused him at every single turn, annihilated him, kept going by him, scored like five or six straight baskets."

Brunson once again delivered in a big playoff moment for New York. The All-Star guard finished with 38 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals while playing 46 minutes.

The Knicks struggled for most of the night and trailed by 22 points with under eight minutes left in regulation. However, Brunson sparked the comeback with aggressive drives, tough mid-range shots and clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter.

After forcing overtime, New York stayed in control and outscored Cleveland 14-3 in the extra period to take a 1-0 series lead.

Brunson shot 15-of-29 from the field and looked unstoppable down the stretch as the Knicks completed one of the biggest comebacks in recent NBA playoff history.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals will take place on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

- BasketballNews

ESPN REMOVES STEPHEN A. SMITH AFTER OVER 20 YEARS

No more Stephen A.

Jun 9, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Sports television personality Stephen A. Smith speaks before game four of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has an argument as the biggest face and personality in sports media today, and perhaps even of all time. ESPN is well aware of this and has rewarded him generously.

Smith recently signed a $105 million deal with the network. However, many fans have grown tired of Smith’s boisterous personality and what seems to be an ever-growing ego, especially in light of Smith starting to cover politics and even hinting at a potential presidential run.

These fans have called for the removal of Stephen A. Smith from being shoved in their faces all the time, especially in his NBA coverage, where he, at times, behaves as if he is a bigger star than the actual players.

Those fans have gotten their wish, to some extent. Smith joined NBA Countdown in 2003 and has been entrenched as a staple of the program since 2021. However, the network officially announced its NBA Countdown crew on Monday, and Smith was nowhere to be found, per Awful Announcing.

Fans reacted to the news on social media.

“Makes NBA Countdown infinitely more watchable,” one fan wrote on Twitter.

“I make actually watch now!” someone else added.

It’ll be interesting to see if this is a double-edged sword for fans, and Smith begins to make more appearances elsewhere on the network.

- Qwame Skinner

THE EAGLES ARE SCARY, YHE CAN BEET YOU ANY WAY THEY NEED TO - STEPHEN A.

STEPHEN A. SMITH NAMES HIS TOP 5 NBA PLAYERS

 

CHARLES BARKLEY ON LEBRON CONFRONTING STEPHEN A. SMITH

 

STEPHEN A. SMITH REACTS TO SHANNON LEAVING ESPN ... Amid Rape Lawsuit

Stephen A. Smith Reacts To Shannon Sharpe Leaving ESPN Amid Rape Lawsuit

Stephen A. Smith has an opinion on just about everything ... and that includes a rape lawsuit involving his co-worker Shannon Sharpe, who is now stepping away from ESPN amid the legal process.

Stephen A. reacted to Sharpe's decision to "temporarily" leave his duties on "First Take" in a Friday episode of his YouTube show. The media personalities are friends and folks are interested in how Stephen's processing Shannon's legal issues.

For Stephen, he says it's his personal opinion Shannon is NOT guilty ... though he admits he wasn't there for the allegations and only knows what's been reported in the media.

Stephen says he finds it hard to believe Shannon would assault or rape anyone -- as a woman is accusing him of doing -- but he says, again, it's just his opinion.

Sharpe says he will be back on ESPN when football season rolls around in the fall ... and Stephen A. says he will be there for Sharpe "if he needs me" because "that's what friends do, even in the toughest of times, sometimes especially the toughest of times, they ain't telling you you're right all the time, and hell, sometimes they may not stop you from falling into that abyss, but they're there to lift you up when nobody else will."

For his part, Shannon maintains he did nothing wrong ... even though he says he offered his accuser a $10 million settlement that she turned down.

- TMZ Sports 

STEPHEN A. SMITH STANDS BY CALLING MAT ISHBIA WORST OWNER EVER |

 

LEBRON JAMES LOOKS MAD AND HAS WORDS FOR STEPHEN A. SMITH DURING HALFTIME 😳

STEPHEN A. SMITH EXPLAINS CONFRONTATION WITH LEBRON JAMES

 

STEPHEN A. SMITH BREAKS SILENCE ON LEBRON JAMES

The new superstar duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic guided the Los Angeles Lakers to their 8th-straight win, defeating Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks.

Stephen A. Smith was at Crypto.com Arena for Thursday night's game, and at one point, LeBron came up to him and confronted him about something. The video went viral online with millions of views.

On Friday morning, Smith made his first post after the conversation with the four-time NBA champion, revealing he would discuss the events on Friday's edition of "First Take." It turns out that LeBron confronted him about some comments Smith had made about Bronny James, LeBron's son.

"That was LeBron James coming up to me unexpectedly, I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son," Smith said. "That wasn't a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent. That was a father, and I can't sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard... Based on some of the comments he had heard, or shall I say, think he thought he heard, clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it."

Stephen A. Smith lo confirma.pic.twitter.com/rPhg3jDl7Mhttps://t.co/EW04sv5R5H

— The Night MVP (@TheNightMVP) March 7, 2025

It is unclear what specific comments LeBron confronted Smith about. However, the popular theory is that it came during January when Smith discussed Bronny's nepotism.

"I'm really, really trying to be as respectful as I possibly can be toward LeBron James, one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball," Smith commented on Jan. 29. "I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad... We know that [Bronny James is] not ready yet, and I'm saying this with compassion."

Stephen A. Smith. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Bronny and LeBron became the first father-son duo to ever touch an NBA court together. The plan for the rookie was likely always to have him play numerous games in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. However, Bronny would not travel with South Bay for road games, only playing at home. But that has since changed.

Still, Bronny has started to gain some confidence in the G League as of late, scoring over 20 points in four of the last five games. He even recorded an NBA career high of nine points on Feb. 12 against the Utah Jazz.

- Chris Phelps Athlon Sports

SERENA WILLIAMS TROLLING HER EX" DRAKE WITH SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCE IS A DIVORCE-WORTHY MOVE, SAYS $25M-WORTH STEPHEN A. SMITH

Serena Williams recently stole the show at the 2025 Super Bowl with her surprise cameo during Kendrick Lamar's electrifying halftime show. However, her performance has garnered a negative reaction from American sports analyst Stephen A. Smith.

After bringing out SZA for a duet and inviting Samuel L. Jackson to provide the narration for his halftime show, Lamar also included an unexpected appearance from the 23-time Grand Slam champion in his set. As Lamar launched into the highly anticipated performance of 'Not Like Us,' his Grammy-winning diss track aimed at Drake, Williams was seen passionately crip walking to the iconic lyrics.

While Serena Williams' performance earned high praise from her sister Venus Williams, fellow tennis players like Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff, and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as tennis fans worldwide, not everyone shared the same glowing sentiments.

While recapping the Super Bowl on ESPN’s 'First Take,' Stephen A. Smith made a reference to the rumors that the former World No. 1 and Drake dated in 2011, which neither of them has ever confirmed.

Smith, who is worth $25 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, asserted that if his hypothetical wife went out of her way to publicly "troll her ex" in such a fashion, he would consider it grounds for divorce.

"If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his a**, ’cause clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye. Bye," Smith said.

Despite Stephen A. Smith's remarks, Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, himself had nothing but praise for Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show. The Reddit co-founder, who watched the show from the stands with his daughter Olympia, applauded the remarkable set and proudly shared a clip of his wife's viral performance.

"Super Halftime Show," Ohanian captioned his Instagram post.

Ohanian also appeared to take a sly dig at Drake by sharing a picture of the exact moment that Lamar cheekily called out the Canadian by name during his performance.

Alexis Ohanian has often declared his allegiance for Kendrick Lamar in the rapper's feud with Drake. The Reddit co-founder has his own history of bad blood with Drake, since the Canadian called him out for being Serena Williams' "groupie" in the song 'Middle of the Ocean.'

However, Ohanian took no offense to the jab, proudly referring to himself as the "best groupie" for the 23-time Grand Slam champion and their daughter Olympia.

- Urvi Mehra

STEPHEN A SAYS CATLIN CLARK IS IN THE CONVERSATION FOR MVP

Stephen A. Smith says the Rookie of the Year race is over, and Caitlin Clark is in the conversation for MVP

“There is no debate. I understand Angel Reese has been doing her thing with the double-doubles—like, 24 straight double-doubles and all that. Major props to her, and she deserves it; she's gonna be number 2. But Caitlin Clark is gonna win Rookie of the Year. Caitlin Clark is in the conversation—she ain't gonna win it because A’ja Wilson is there. But Caitlin Clark is in the conversation for league MVP. I don't know if you already know that, but she's in the conversation—league MVP as a rookie.”

(Via @FirstTake )

STEPHEN A. SMITH SAYS JAY-Z CALLED TO ADDRESS HIS COMMENTS COMPARING BEYONCÉ AND RIHANNA'S SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCES

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Photo by Mike Kirschbaum/NBAE via Getty Images, ,Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images, Photo by Kevin Mazur / WireImage for Parkwood, Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

 Stephen A. Smith has revealed Jay-Z had a word with him about the comments he made comparing Rihanna to his wife, Beyoncé.

During his sit-down conversation with the Connect the Dots podcast, the legendary sports journalist recalled when Hov had to give him some advice regarding him downplaying Rihanna's Super Bowl LVII Halftime performance and claiming there's only one Beyoncé in an interview last year.

"I love Rihanna. I bought her album, she gets my money. Mad love for her, wish her nothing but the best … But you do know there's only one Beyoncé," Smith said recapping his initial statement and revealing some "Hollywood stars" were upset with his comments and never spoke to him again.

Smith said he couldn't understand why he comments would make anyone upset but realized where he was wrong once the Roc Nation boss stepped in to clear the air. 

STEPHEN A. SMITH & SHANNON SHARPE THINK THE EAGLES ARE SOMETHING ELSE

 

STEPHEN A. SMITH ON THE FUTURE OF ADRIAN GRIFFIN WITH THE BUCKS VIA FIRST TAKE

 

STEPHEN A. SAYS CHICAGO BEARS ARE TRASH

 

STEPHEN A. SMITH ON MAX KELLERMAN

 

STEPHEN A SMITH ON THE USA FAILING FAILING TO REACH THE FIBA WORLD CUP FINAL AGAIN VIA FIRST TAKE

 

STEPHEN A. SMITH ON KYRIE'S RECENT COMMENTS ABOUT HIS FREE AGENCY