The ongoing dramatic saga that is the recent feud between Draymond Green and Stephen A. Smith seemingly has reached a positive conclusion.
During TNT’s “Inside the NBA” pregame show ahead of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals , guest analyst Green apologized on air for his previous comments about how he lost respect for Smith.
“[Shaquille O’Neal], I was on your podcast... and you just mentioned Stephen A,” Green said “And I said something that didn't come out the way I said it, so I want to apologize to him. I said that publicly ... I was wrong for that.”
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"Shaq, I was on your podcast... and you just mentioned Stephen A. [Smith]. And I said something that didn't come out the way I said it so I want to apologize to him. I said that publicly... I was wrong for that."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 29, 2024
- Draymond Greenpic.twitter.com/tLlLNZpraw https://t.co/sFAL5VhY1Q
Smith then responded with a post on X, formerly Twitter, accepting Green’s apology and making an apology of his own.
“Apology accepted my brother [Draymond Green],” Smith said “The love is always here for you, my Queens’ brother Kenny [Smith], and the whole TNT crew. Love y’all. I apologize as well, for anything I may have done. I’m not trying to hurt anybody. Now let’s enjoy this marvelous NBA basketball we’re about to see.”
Apology accepted my brother @Money23Green. The love is always here for you, my Queens’ brother Kenny, and the whole TNT crew. Love y’all. I apologize as well, for anything I may have done. I’m not trying to hurt anybody. Now let’s enjoy this marvelous @NBA basketball we’re about…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 29, 2024
Golden State Warriors
Smith has become known in the sports world for his fiery takes, and his comments after Green’s indefinite suspension for striking Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face in a Dec. 12 game offended the Warriors star. Green is not one to hold his tongue, finally airing his grievances on a recent podcast episode with O’Neal.
"Stephen A. Smith really pissed me off," Green told O'Neal earlier this month. "And the reason he pissed me off was because he hit me, he's like 'Yo, it's been hard for a lot of us to talk about you these last few days.' You know, for me, I'm like ... OK, it's been hard for me to watch, but I'm watching it because I want to see everything that everybody had to say ... I lost a lot of respect for a lot of people."
And Smith responded in kind, at the time.
"Draymond Green just went on a national podcast with Shaquille O'Neal, my brother, and said that he lost respect for me," Smith said. "Well, I have now lost all respect for him."
It appears that the two have buried the hatchet, and both can turn their focus towards the impending start of the 2024 NBA Finals.