Stephen A. Smith Told Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart He Was Wrong. He Meant Every Word of It.

Stephen A. Smith stood on a stage inside Madison Square Garden and told Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson something he doesn’t say often. He admitted he was wrong.

Not just wrong about a single game or a bad take. Wrong about what the entire New York Knicks team could become. And he did it on live television during a taping of The Roommates podcast for ESPN.

“I’m a grown a** man. I was beyond grown,” Smith said. “I apologized to this brother on national television. I’m apologizing to you. I’m apologizing to the entire Knicks organization.”

The Knicks just won their first championship since 1973. Smith has been a fan his whole life. He was four years old the last time it happened. Fifty-eight years later, he finally got to see another one.

“Let me be very, very clear. I have never been more happy to be wrong in my life,” he said.

Smith’s apology tour didn’t stop there. A few days earlier, on First Take, he turned to Jalen Brunson directly and said sorry for ever doubting whether Brunson could lead a team to a title.

“In his own way, he reminds me of this every time. It’s automatic,” Smith said. “National television, I owe this man an apology. I am grateful for what you have done for this city, what y’all have done for this city, and you won’t be hearing any more doubts from me, my brother.”

Brunson’s response? A smirk and a simple “We’ll see about that!” It got a laugh from everyone in the room. But it also got at something real. Smith has spent years questioning whether Brunson was actually a franchise player. That argument is dead now.

For Smith, the stakes here went beyond just being wrong about a basketball team. He admitted he was scared the Knicks’ championship drought would outlast the Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl drought. That’s a problem for a guy who has roasted Cowboys fans for three decades about coming up short.

“I couldn’t imagine having to face Cowboys fans if that were to happen,” Smith said, which is maybe the most honest thing he’s said all year.

The Knicks held their championship parade in New York City on Thursday. Fans lined the streets. Players held the trophy above their heads. Stephen A. Smith was somewhere in that crowd, probably still apologizing to anyone who would listen.

He’d trade having to say sorry a hundred more times for another parade like that. That much was clear.