ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is once again in the middle of controversy. Just a few days ago, he was heavily criticized on social media after making comments about fellow ESPN colleague Chiney Ogwumike that many fans felt were unnecessary.
Now, Smith is back in the headlines because of his ongoing public feud with sports commentator Nick Wright.
Nick Wright’s Latest Comment Regarding Stephen A. Smith
Two days ago, Wright openly criticized Smith during an episode of his podcast, “What’s Wright With Nick Wright.” During the show, he said Smith was acting too aggressively toward NBA players and compared his behavior to that of someone trying to intimidate athletes publicly.
“Whatever. There’s no actual harm in that. But talking to players like you’re a mob boss and they better watch what they say, there’s harm in it,” Wright said in his podcast.
Smith clearly did not appreciate those comments. On his own show, he fired back strongly at Wright and said the Fox Sports 1 analyst “should be ashamed of himself” for the way he was speaking.
“So when one of my contemporaries tries to mention me as a ‘mobster,’ that I’m coming across as a ‘mobster,’ he knows better…”
“Once you figure out who I’m talking about, you can gauge his motives. He should be ashamed of himself, but I’ll leave it alone and let him hang out with his crew. And he knows that I know who they are,” Smith responded on his show.
Many people expected the feud to stop there. But that did not happen. Soon after Smith’s response, Wright once again jumped into the conversation and posted another counter-response on social media.
I’ve never seen someone’s defense be simply repeating the exact behavior they’re being criticized for.
“I KNOW (waves hands) THINGS ABOUT YOU, TOO! I won’t say them and they’re total figments of my imagination… but I KNOW THINGS! I’ll leave it at that!”
10 out of 10. No notes. https://t.co/FQ4kPSEhGl
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 23, 2026
The entire situation began with comments Jaylen Brown made after the Boston Celtics’ playoff defeat against the Philadelphia 76ers.
During a livestream, Brown appeared frustrated with how some media members cover players, specifically calling out Smith. Brown suggested that Smith had become more focused on creating attention-grabbing headlines than real journalism and questioned his credibility as a media figure.
Moreover, this is not the first time the NBA world has seen Smith involved in a major feud. Last year, Smith also found himself in conflict with LeBron James after criticizing Bronny James and questioning whether Bronny was truly ready for the NBA.
Right now, there does not appear to be any clear winner in the Smith and Wright drama. Instead, the feud continues to grow with every new response.
