Jaylen Brown’s issues with ESPN are not cooling off.
The Celtics star took aim at the network and Stephen A. Smith while speaking at Sport Beach in Cannes, France, on Wednesday, appearing to revisit the backlash to his comments about last season being his “favorite.”
“The leader behind that was ESPN,” Brown said. “ESPN is unethical.”
Brown then singled out Smith, who has been at the center of his public back-and-forth with the Boston forward.
“Stephen A. Smith is the head and face of that,” Brown said.
Brown appeared to be referring to the reaction after he called last season his favorite, despite Boston’s first-round playoff exit against the 76ers.
Smith previously said Brown should “be quiet” and “go on vacation” unless he was trying to get traded, which sparked a sharp response from Brown.
Brown said Wednesday that those inside the Celtics’ room understood what he meant by the comment.
“The organization, the players, they were all in agreement,” Brown said. “They all knew what I meant by that.”
Brown then pointed to the state of Boston’s roster and the changes the Celtics had to absorb.
“Our team, it was basically salary dumped,” Brown said. “We lost a lot of players. For us to emerge and still be in the same position…”
The latest comments come after Brown unloaded on Smith during a Twitch livestream last month, calling for the ESPN personality to retire and accusing him of not doing “real journalism.”
Smith then responded on “First Take” by warning Brown to “be careful what you wish for” as their feud intensified.
The tension began after Boston’s season ended in the first round, with Brown later defending why he viewed the year differently than many outside the organization.
Brown averaged a career-best 28.7 points per game and made his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, but the Celtics were bounced by Philadelphia after blowing a 3-1 series lead.
He was also fined $50,000 for criticizing officials during a livestream after Boston’s season-ending loss.