“I truly believe he’s upset that he couldn’t play ball in front of 19,000 people every night" - Former All-Star bashes Stephen A. Smith for his continued criticism of Kyrie Irving and other NBA players

Stephen A. Smith's back-and-forth with former NBA player Stephon Marbury over Kyrie Irving is back in full blast after being dormant of late. Marbury previously lambasted the ESPN sports analyst for criticizing Irving, who refused to be vaccinated despite missing games. His stance forced the Brooklyn Nets to scramble for other solutions.

The First Take co-host recently ripped Kyrie Irving for the latter’s rant about the media taking advantage of his name, among other things. Smith called the Nets’ point guard “delusional,” “weak” and said he had the gall to change the narrative of his unreliability and absences.

Marbury, as he had done a couple of months ago, took exception to the two-minute diatribe with a volley of his own (via Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson):

“I truly believe he’s upset that he couldn’t play ball in front of 19,000 people every night, so he reverted towards targeting (bash) people who look like him who have true intentions on earth to be real and authentic towards helping people.”

Before talking to Bally Sports’ Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Marbury initially sent a jab of his own:

“We are witnessing one of the biggest Uncle Tom’s on the planet @stephenasmith”

So far, the face of ESPN sports shows hasn’t made any comments yet, but it will likely not stay that way.

In their original exchange, Stephen A. Smith readily admitted that he could not even shine Marbury and Irving’s shoes as a basketball player. He also said that he understood the former NBA player defending Marbury.

Smith said:

“Stephon Marbury was somebody that was considered an incredible, tremendous talent who had leadership issues when he was in the NBA, so it seems more than apropos that he would come to the support of a Kyrie Irving.”

From there, Stephen A. Smith enumerated Irving’s questionable leadership issues, clearly taking a shot at Marbury as well.

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Stephon Marbury continues to take a shot at Stephen A. Smith’s lack of experience in sports to talk basketball, boxing and baseball

It's round two of the Stephen A. Smith versus Stephon Marbury exchange. [Photo: YouTube]

Stephon Marbury’s recent criticism is nothing new. His comments were reiterations of what he replied to Smith’s original criticism of Kyrie Irving. This time, though, his response was not just straight-up talk. Marbury came out with this:

“This is the person people listen to in sports. The 3B’s shouldn’t be allowed. 1. Boxing NO.2 Basketball NO.3 Baseball HELL NO”

Stephen A. Smith’s reply to “Coney Island’s Finest” has been very tame by his standards so far. That could soon change, as Marbury has vowed not to allow the veteran sports show host to be “comfortable.”

The Brooklyn Nets have already been swept out of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, but it seems like Kyrie Irving will remain a hot topic.