If you thought that Stephen A. Smith wouldn't capitalize on Josh Hart's "shut the h*** up" response to him, you must've never turned on ESPN in the past decade-plus. Consider yourself lucky if so. The television personality released a 15-minute video in which he said exactly the kinds of things New York Knicks fans knew he would.
Stephen A. started by saying he loves Hart and all that his game brings to the Knicks, but then, he went into a spiel about who he knows, without directly naming names.
Stephen A Smith responds to Josh Hart:
— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) March 27, 2026
“First of all, you don’t who I know. Secondly, you don’t know who talks to me. Thirdly, you don’t even know how close I am to the people that cut your checks.” pic.twitter.com/oPbNDXyyn7
All of this started on March 23, when Stefan Bondy of the New York Post published a piece in which he interviewed Hart about the criticism Mikal Bridges receives, not specifically what SAS has said about the wing.
"He's been doing what's been asked of him. And I've said it before — when you're a guy who, for a year and a half [with the Brooklyn Nets] when you're the No. 1 guy and he's getting those plays called for him."
Stephen A. responded to Hart defending Bridges on First Take, where he said, "I need Josh Hart to be quiet. Sit down. The only time I want you standing up and talking is when you're playing." He took it to a whole different level with that.
"I need Josh Hart to be quiet. ... Seven picks. ... For a dude who can't even get you 10 PPG?"@stephenasmith responds to Josh Hart's defense of Mikal Bridges recent play 😳 pic.twitter.com/KZMiNredb3
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 24, 2026
Hart responded to Stephen A., essentially telling him to shut up and dribble, as Steve Popper of Newsday tweeted on Thursday:
"For me, I think Stephen A., as a part-time Knicks fan, needs to shut the hell up. He barely knows guys that are on the team." -- Josh Hart on Stephen A. Smith's comments about him (and Mikal Bridges).
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) March 26, 2026
Knicks fans love Josh Hart even more for going at Stephen A.
Before New York's Christmas Day game in 2023, Stephen A. said, "Mitchell Robinson is out. Jericho Sims is out. So, I gotta deal with some dude named Hartenstein." Not only did he mispronounce Isaiah's last name, but he also made it sound like the Knicks pulled I-Hart off the street a few hours before tip-off, when that was his second season with the team. He was very much in the rotation, too.
"Some dude named Hartenstein"
— ShwinnyPooh, Diawara playing time advocate (@shwinnypooh) December 26, 2023
Supposed to believe this guy is a Knicks fan who actually watches them https://t.co/syhs1xz6Mc
Hart actually might've been too generous when referring to Stephen A. as a "part-time Knicks fan." Indeed, he doesn't really know who's on the team.
Stephen A. shares an endless stream of bad Knicks takes on ESPN, and he is getting paid very well to do so, but no one should regard him as an analyst. He yells outrageous takes so bad they catch your attention. He's been at it for years, so at this point, most people know not to listen to anything he says, especially New York fans.
Unfortunately, as funny as it was for Hart to go right back at Stephen A., it only fueled the monster. Does that mean he shouldn't have said anything? No, but this kind of thing is what SAS thrives on, as it gives him an opening to hear himself speak even more.
It's probably fair to assume that Hart doesn't care who Stephen A. knows or who speaks to him. He doesn't care that SAS knows his boss, either. None of that will keep Hart from taking up for his teammate or himself.
Knowing Stephen A., the next time he's at MSG when the Knicks play, he'll try to stroll up to Hart, acting like everything is all good, and then turn around on ESPN or his podcast and take another shot at Hart or spew some absurd take. That's just who he is.