Stephen A. Smith is not letting anyone slide, not even an All-Star. He went all the way off on First Take on Monday morning, firing back at Jaylen Brown after the Boston Celtics star went on a wild rant about him over the weekend.

This whole thing started on Twitch. Brown was doing a live stream and started watching clips of Smith criticizing him. Brown didn't hold back at all. He called Smith a clown, said he was the absolute face of clickbait media, and basically challenged him to retire so real journalism could thrive again.

The background on this is that the Celtics just suffered a tough first-round playoff exit against the Philadelphia 76ers, blowing a 3-1 lead in the process. Even though they lost early, Brown said on camera that this was actually his favorite season with the franchise because the team had to fight through so much adversity, especially with Jayson Tatum sitting out with a major injury. Smith had previously checked him for that, telling him he needed to be quiet because you can't call a historic collapse your favorite year.

Well, Smith doubled down on Monday. He said he wasn't trying to disrespect Brown, but told him he needs to look in the mirror. Smith pointed out that Boston is a legendary franchise with 18 titles, and celebrating a first-round exit as a team leader just isn't a good look.

Then things got really spicy. Smith ended his monologue with a straight-up warning for the Celtics guard. He told Brown to be careful what he wishes for, hinting that if he really wants media figures to do deeper reporting, people could start looking into how the front office actually feels about him, what the vibes are like with Tatum, and what’s really going on behind closed doors with his sneaker and endorsement deals.

Brown did a lot of heavy lifting for Boston this year, averaging 28.7 points and 6.9 rebounds to help secure the No. 2 seed. But after that historic playoff collapse against Philly, it looks like the biggest battle he’s fighting right now is happening off the court.