Stephen A. Smith said he made the call to be removed from “NBA Countdown.”

ESPN announced Monday a “new-look NBA Countdown” show that surprisingly did not include Smith, a regular on the show for years and one of the faces of the company and its NBA coverage.

The Post and other outlets covered this news, and Smith took exception to the fact that his non-inclusion would be highlighted, instead saying he negotiated to be removed from the show.

My reaction to the NBA Countdown “news”

Full video: https://t.co/iOcjHtzo6V pic.twitter.com/4RwEZNIxW8 — Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 18, 2025

“I had a contract negotiation [with ESPN] last year that started in June and ended in March, going into April,” Smith said on his SiriusXM show on Tuesday, according to Awful Announcin

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