{"id":748431,"date":"2026-06-20T08:10:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/748431\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:10:11","slug":"knicks-stars-jalen-brunson-and-josh-hart-confront-espns-stephen-a-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/748431\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks Stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart Confront ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe New York Knicks<\/a> festivities aren\u2019t over just yet.<\/p>\n

\n\tJust one day after an estimated two million people flooded the streets of Lower Manhattan to catch a glimpse of the team\u2019s ticker-tape parade celebrating the Knicks\u2019 first NBA title in 53 years<\/a>, stars (and long-time pals) Jalen Brunson<\/a> and Josh Hart<\/a>, along with co-host Matt Hillman, recorded a special live edition of their popular podcast \u201cThe Roommates Show\u201d at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

\n\tAll proceeds to the sell-out show, which was simulcast on ESPN<\/a>, benefited the Garden of Dreams Foundation<\/a>, the MSG non-profit supporting children in need. And the Friday night crowd was a rowdy one, to say the least.<\/p>\n

\n\tBrunson and Hart kicked things off by bringing the Larry O\u2019Brien Championship Trophy onstage to raucous applause and chants of \u201cM-V-P!\u201d for Brunson. The night also saw a number of special guests join the podcasting trio, including Knicks teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles \u201cDeuce\u201d McBride; Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony; and the co-hosts\u2019 wives \u2014 Ali Brunson, Shannon Hart and Samara Hillman. They were all met with loud cheers on this Juneteenth evening.<\/p>\n

\n\tStephen A. Smith<\/a>, on the other hand, was not.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe boisterous ESPN personality was greeted by a loud chorus of boos and heckling throughout his \u201csecret guest\u201d spot.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAre they saying \u2018Deuce?\u2019\u201d joked Hart as Smith came out to the boo-birds.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey don\u2019t know that boos are cheers,\u201d added Smith, trying to save face. \u201cBoos are cheers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe crowd had good reason to boo Smith, who infamously said<\/a> that \u201cVillanova doesn\u2019t have a real NBA prospect on this squad\u201d after the team won the 2016 NCAA Men\u2019s National Championship (the team had future NBA difference-makers Brunson, Hart, Mikal Bridges and Donte DiVincenzo, to name a few).<\/p>\n

2016 Stephen A Smith: “Villanova doesn’t have a real NBA prospect on this squad”<\/p>\n

Skip Bayless: “No, they don’t, mm-mm”<\/p>\n

2016 Wildcats = 7 NBA players:
\u2014Jalen Brunson
\u2014Mikal Bridges
\u2014Josh Hart
\u2014Donte DiVincenzo
\u2014Eric Paschall
\u2014Ryan Arcidiacono
\u2014Daniel Ochefu pic.twitter.com\/5eMtb9Ttzd<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) August 31, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAnd later, when the Knicks signed Brunson in 2022, Smith bashed the decision, exclaiming, \u201cI\u2019m tired y\u2019all\u2026 JALEN BRUNSON ISN\u2019T THE ANSWER. You creating this cap space to get Jalen Brunson? Is he KD? Is he Kawhi Leonard?\u2026 You\u2019re selling New York on Jalen Brunson?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd so, on Friday night, Brunson and Hart confronted Smith about his 2016 comments.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are now sitting here with this golden trophy there to your right,\u201d Hart said to Smith. \u201cCan you sit here and admit you were wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter pretending he couldn\u2019t hear the question, Smith replied, \u201cI\u2019m a grown-ass man. I was beyond wrong. I\u2019m apologizing to this brother on national television; I\u2019m apologizing to you; I\u2019m apologizing to the entire Knicks organization. Let me be very, very clear: I have never been more happy to be wrong in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSmith, 58, claimed that he \u201ccame out of the womb a Knicks fan\u201d to more jeers from the crowd before rattling off a series of infamous moves by the Knicks\u2019 organization in the 2000s and 2010s while owner James Dolan was calling the shots, and before he handed the reins to Leon Rose (and got distracted by erecting his Sphere in Las Vegas).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSo, I apologize for being wrong,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cBut let me be very clear: if it means another championship, I would do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n