Marcus Smart was not in a forgiving mood during one of the Washington Wizards' games last week against the Detroit Pistons.
The Wizards visited the Pistons on March 11 for the first of their two-game set at Little Caesars Arena. Midway through the second quarter, Smart hit a tough floater in the lane that cut Detroit's lead to 50-37.
Smart fell to the floor on his attempt after taking a legal bump from Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. No foul was called. Stewart audibly called Smart out for supposedly flopping, which did not sit well with the former Defensive Player of the Year.
Stewart: "You a flopping a--, bro!"
Smart: "N----, f--- that, bro. Stop that. That's a f------ foul, n----. I ain't the right one. Stop that s---, bro. Calm that down. Calm that s--- down, n----."
Isaiah Stewart met his match with Marcus Smart pic.twitter.com/zDXtfM1p1l
— The Celtics Files (@CelticsFiles) March 12, 2025
The second half of the audio came one possession later. Pistons guard Dennis Schroder got fouled on a drive, leading to a stoppage in play. Stewart and Smart's exchange escalated further during the dead ball.
"What are you talking about, n----," Smart continued. "That ain't scaring me. ... F--- you want to do?"
Both players were issued technical fouls. The Pistons ended up winning the game, 123-103.
Smart and the Wizards did get their revenge a couple of nights later, winning the rematch in a riveting 129-125 victory. Smart played a key role in both contests, averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 assists per game.
It's not the first time the two have butted heads. The pair got into an altercation during the 2021-22 season, when Smart was still a member of the Boston Celtics.
Marcus Smart and Isaiah Stewart had to be separated after this scuffle pic.twitter.com/J27GMpcKeN
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 26, 2022
Stewart has a massive size advantage over Smart and has also developed a reputation for instigating on-court beef. But Smart has never been one to back down from a scuffle.
After a historically poor start to the season, the Wizards have shown some serious fire of late, both with their play and their trash talk.
Wizards rookie Bub Carrington recently went viral as well when he dared Toronto Raptors wing RJ Barrett to throw a punch.
Related: Wizards Rookie Goes Viral For Daring RJ Barrett To Hit Him: 'Go Ahead'
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This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM.