Stephen A. Smith Finally Admits He Was Wrong About Jalen Brunson

The celebration of the New York Knicks’ long-awaited championship continued Friday night, and one of the team’s biggest critics found himself answering for years of bad takes.

Less than 24 hours after an estimated 2 million fans packed the streets of Lower Manhattan for the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade celebrating the franchise’s first NBA title in 53 years, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart took the party indoors for a special live edition of their hit podcast, The Roommates Show.

The sold-out event at Madison Square Garden’s Infosys Theater was simulcast on ESPN, with all proceeds benefiting the Garden of Dreams Foundation, the Madison Square Garden nonprofit that supports children facing illness, poverty, and other hardships, Variety reports.

The atmosphere felt more like a championship rally than a podcast taping.

Brunson and Hart opened the show by carrying the Larry O’Brien Trophy onto the stage, drawing thunderous applause and repeated chants of “M-V-P!” directed at Brunson, whose postseason heroics helped lead the Knicks to the promised land. Throughout the evening, the hosts were joined by a parade of guests, including Knicks teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles “Deuce” McBride, Knicks legend Carmelo Anthony, and their wives, Ali Brunson, Shannon Hart, and Samara Hillman.

Every guest received a warm welcome.

Well, almost every guest.

When ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith emerged as the show’s surprise guest, the crowd unleashed a torrent of boos that echoed throughout the theater.

“Are they saying ‘Deuce?’” Hart joked as the jeers rained down.

Trying to laugh it off, Smith responded, “They don’t know that boos are cheers. Boos are cheers.”

The reception wasn’t exactly undeserved.

Knicks fans have long remembered Smith’s skepticism about both Brunson and the Villanova core that eventually became the backbone of New York’s championship roster. Following Villanova’s 2016 NCAA championship, Smith famously argued that the Wildcats did not have a legitimate NBA prospect despite featuring future NBA standouts such as Brunson, Hart, Mikal Bridges, and Donte DiVincenzo.

Years later, when the Knicks signed Brunson in free agency in 2022, Smith publicly questioned the move, wondering why New York was clearing salary-cap space for a player he didn’t believe could transform the franchise.

Now, with a championship trophy sitting just a few feet away, Hart decided it was time for some accountability.

“We are now sitting here with this golden trophy there to your right,” Hart told Smith. “Can you sit here and admit you were wrong?”

After briefly pretending not to hear the question, Smith finally apologized.

“I’m a grown-ass man,” he said. “I was beyond wrong. I’m apologizing to this brother on national television. I’m apologizing to you. I’m apologizing to the entire Knicks organization. Let me be very, very clear: I have never been more happy to be wrong in my life.”