LeBron James and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith have been exchanging words, from a distance, throughout the past few weeks. James, the unofficial spokesperson for the NBA, has always freely spoken his mind on the state of the relationship that exists between the league and the media. Smith, remains one of the most polarizing sports media personalities, even being mentioned as a potential candidate to run for President of the United States.
The current James-Smith feud stems from James' comments regarding young NBA players not wanting to be the "face of the league" due to unfair media scrutiny.
"Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis (expletive) on everybody?" James said.
Smith took exception to James' comments, responding the very next day. Smith felt James aimed his comments directly at Smith.
"When he talks about people covering the league, we know he's talking about me," Smith said.
Well, on Thursday night, after nearly two weeks of virtual confrontations, James and Smith had an in-person confrontation immediately following the Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks game.
Damn LeBron stepped to Stephen A Smith pic.twitter.com/ZJIDcPU4dL
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) March 7, 2025
The video, posted by @LegendOfWinning on X, shows James talking to Smith in an aggressive manner. While it has not been confirmed, James appears to say, "I don't care bro, keep my son out of this (expletive)." Smith doesn't appear to verbally respond, but simply shakes his head back-and-forth.
While James has two sons, Bronny and Bryce, James appears to be defending Bronny, who is currently splitting his time between the Lakers and their G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. This would bring the initial feud back even further, to January, when Smith pleaded with James on "First Take" to stop pushing Bronny as a legitimate NBA prospect.
"I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad," Smith said.
Smith, fresh off a reported five-year, $100 million contract with ESPN, will presumably elaborate and respond on "First Take" on Friday morning.
Related: Stephen A. Smith Fires Back at LeBron James Over Media Criticism
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This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 2:55 AM.