Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James helped the storied franchise to its eighth consecutive win on Thursday. Los Angeles beat the New York Knicks in overtime to improve to 40-21 on the season.
But James is making waves on social media for something else that happened on Thursday. He approached ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, and the two appeared to have an intense conversation.
LeBron looked like he wanted to kill Stephen A. Smith 😳 pic.twitter.com/WmX5Dhxyw9
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) March 7, 2025
Smith has since spoken about his interaction with James and revealed that James told him to watch what he says about his son Bronny.
.@stephenasmith describes his moment with LeBron James last night at Lakers-Knicks. pic.twitter.com/ZZyUnOOwYZ
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 7, 2025
“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,” Smith said. “Can’t repeat the words because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves. That’s what he was doing.
“I thought long and hard about this over the last few hours because I had no intentions…of talking about this at all. And the reason why is because it was a one-on-one, I wouldn’t say a conversation, but it was a one-on-one confrontation. But then I wake up, and everybody from ESPN and my agent and everybody else were sending me that this thing had gone viral. And so ultimately, it was unavoidable, and that is why I have to discuss it now.
“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. By all accounts he’s obviously a wonderful family man and a wonderful father who cares very, very deeply about his son. And based on some of the comments that he had heard, or shall I say I think he thought he heard, he clearly took exception to some of the things that he heard me say, and he confronted me about it.
“For the record, his agent and friend Rich Paul has my number. Maverick Carter, who works under him, has my number. LeBron James knows how to get in contact with me if he wanted to. He never called. ‘Cause had he called and wanted to talk to me, I would have accepted that call. Had he wanted to see me, I would have flown out, and I would have seen him, and I would have had a conversation man to man. But that is not what he elected to do. Instead he elected to confront me while I was sitting courtside. … He walked right up to me, and he said what he had to say. And apparently he feels like I was slighting his son.”
Smith continued.
“Now let me tell you what I feel,” Smith said. “What I would have said if we were in a different environment — ’cause I was not going to an engage in a confrontation at that particular moment in that setting — but if we had had that conversation, I would have said to LeBron James, ‘I never would speak negatively about your son. I was talking about you.’ Meaning you, LeBron James. I have nothing but the best wishes for Bronny James.”
Smith added more.
“When I said the things that I said, I wasn’t talking about Bronny James because my attitude is, he’s a rookie,” Smith said. “It’s going to take some time to get himself together. He’ll be just fine, especially with J.J. Redick and the staff coaching him. I was talking about the position that he was put in by his dad. … I could be a bit more outspoken about it, but to be quite honest with you, to be in that moment, to have LeBron look at me the way that he did, for me to be a father of two daughters, for me to know how much love fathers have for their children and to hear what he had to say, it was all about his son.”
Smith also said that he “really understood” where the elder James was coming from. He said he isn’t offended or insulted and added that he can’t be certain he wouldn’t have done the same thing had he been in the elder James’ position.
The ESPN star had some strong words regarding the younger James not that long ago. After the younger James finished with zero points on 0-of-5 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting from 3-point range in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 28, he begged the elder James “as a father” to “stop this” in reference to the rookie getting important NBA minutes.
Smith alleged that in light of his comments on television, people close to the elder James contacted him about the notion that he questioned the 40-year-old as a father.
Smith’s ESPN colleague, former NBA player Richard Jefferson, seemingly sided with the elder James and younger James with a post he made on X back in February in which he seemingly threw shade at Smith.
The younger James didn’t play in the Lakers’ victory over the Knicks on Thursday but saw the floor for the team recently. In Los Angeles’ decisive victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on March 4, he ended up with two points and one rebound in approximately four minutes of action.
The 2024 second-round pick has appeared in 18 games with Los Angeles so far in the 2024-25 season and is averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has been far more productive in the G League, where he has displayed enough potential to get people excited.
While the younger James shouldn’t be absolved of criticism for how he’s fared in his limited NBA opportunities, maybe Smith will be more careful in how he comments on the elder James’ son going forward.