Stephen A. Smith warns Shannon Sharpe ‘you better watch your mouth’ just minutes into his explosive First Take return

STEPHEN A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe didn’t waste time getting into an electric back-and-forth on First Take.

The NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe , 55, returned to the ESPN show after being on vacation since early July.

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ESPN

Stephen A. appeared alongside host Molly Qerim in the New York City First Take studios while Sharpe was at a remote location.

After the show’s introduction, Sharpe discussed Team USA’s gold medal win in men’s basketball at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In doing so, he mentioned NBA icon LeBron James in the process.

“Did you see Goat James at the Olympics, Stephen A?” he asked Smith.

Sharpe, a well-known LeBron fanatic, continued to share his belief that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is the greatest NBA player of all time.

“I don’t wanna hear that. He did look good, though,” Stephen A. said while chuckling. “Goat in terms of longevity. Goat in terms of conditioning. No one is better.”

Smith believes that Michael Jordan is the best NBA player of all time and has often debated Sharpe on the subject.

Sharpe then proceeded to mock Stephen A.’s opinion about the Chicago Bulls legend MJ.

“Your goat never looked like that,” he said.

Smith quickly called out Sharpe for his take on Jordan.

“You better watch your mouth!” he playfully yelled to his ESPN colleague Sharpe.

“Don’t start no mess now.

“Stop it!”

The sequence then moved forward to a topic concerning Stephen A.’s Pittsburgh Steelers .

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Pittsburgh lost 9-3 to the Buffalo Bills over the weekend, falling to 0-2 in the preseason.

Smith took a shot at the Steelers’ offense and their new quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

“The Steelers looked awful offensively. They looked absolutely awful,” the 57-year-old said.

“I’m very, very disgusted by what I saw.”

Wilson completed 8-of-10 passes for 47 yards but was sacked three times while Fields completed 11-of-17 completions for 92 yards and 42 rushing yards.

First Take airs each weekday from 10 am Eastern to noon on ESPN.