The new superstar duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic guided the Los Angeles Lakers to their 8th-straight win, defeating Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks.
Stephen A. Smith was at Crypto.com Arena for Thursday night's game, and at one point, LeBron came up to him and confronted him about something. The video went viral online with millions of views.
On Friday morning, Smith made his first post after the conversation with the four-time NBA champion, revealing he would discuss the events on Friday's edition of "First Take." It turns out that LeBron confronted him about some comments Smith had made about Bronny James, LeBron's son.
"That was LeBron James coming up to me unexpectedly, I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son," Smith said. "That wasn't a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent. That was a father, and I can't sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard... Based on some of the comments he had heard, or shall I say, think he thought he heard, clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it."
Stephen A. Smith lo confirma.pic.twitter.com/rPhg3jDl7Mhttps://t.co/EW04sv5R5H
— The Night MVP (@TheNightMVP) March 7, 2025
It is unclear what specific comments LeBron confronted Smith about. However, the popular theory is that it came during January when Smith discussed Bronny's nepotism.
"I'm really, really trying to be as respectful as I possibly can be toward LeBron James, one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball," Smith commented on Jan. 29. "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... We know that [Bronny James is] not ready yet, and I'm saying this with compassion."
Bronny and LeBron became the first father-son duo to ever touch an NBA court together. The plan for the rookie was likely always to have him play numerous games in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. However, Bronny would not travel with South Bay for road games, only playing at home. But that has since changed.
Still, Bronny has started to gain some confidence in the G League as of late, scoring over 20 points in four of the last five games. He even recorded an NBA career high of nine points on Feb. 12 against the Utah Jazz.
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This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 10:27 AM.