When LeBron James was the first player mentioned at halftime of the Los Angeles Lakers' 111-101 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday, ESPN "NBA Countdown" host Stephen A. Smith could not change the topic quickly enough.
The Lakers star confronted Smith about his coverage of his son, Bronny James, during the Lakers' game against the New York Knicks on Thursday.
The courtside interaction went viral on social media Friday morning, before bleeding into Smith's plethora of work on ESPN's airwaves, such as "First Take" and "The Stephen A. Smith Show."
"He was fiery," Smith said of James on "The Stephen A. Smith Show" on Friday. "He approached me during the game, and he said, 'Stop (expletive) with my son. That's my (expletive) son. Stop (expletive) with my son."
The tension carried over to the Lakers' next game on Saturday, a marquee NBA rivalry against the Celtics. The broadcast aired on ABC, with Smith forced to cover James' team amid their personal drama.
With Los Angeles trailing 58-54 at halftime, the leading topic in the studio was James' 14-point first half performance. After Bob Myers heaped praise on the ageless Lakers forward, saying "it doesn't make any sense" how James is still playing so well. Smith refused to continue the conversation.
"Well here's what makes sense to me," Smith said bluntly, cutting off his co-host. "We talked enough about (James) during the pregame. How about Jayson Tatum right now?"
Stephen A Smith did NOT wanna talk about LeBron James
Bro still salty pic.twitter.com/Bz1NmImsxX
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) March 9, 2025
While the opinions of many fans were split after their confrontation on Thursday night, Smith's snappy decision during halftime on Saturday generated considerable praise on social media.
"SAS is right," said a user on X during the game. "Tatum is doing great."
"He not wrong," said a reply.
"He's right though," added another response.
He's.......right???
— Grant City Jack (@StackingWs) March 9, 2025
Tatum had 22 points at halftime, finishing with a game-high 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
"It's because the Celtics ended that half with the lead and Tatum is the leading scorer between both teams how u start off the halftime show talking about LeBron," a reply agreed.
Lmaooo he should keep this up lol just stop talking about LeBron altogether and let's see how he likes it https://t.co/QehILhrd7e
— Dogecoin Donny (@bonchillersOg) March 9, 2025
Whether or not Smith's change of topic had a personal motivation, fans seemed to agree it was the right decision in the moment to highlight Tatum and the Celtics.
The defending NBA champions improved to 46-18 on the season, snapping an eight-game win streak for Los Angeles in the process.
James left the game in the fourth quarter with a groin injury and did not return. Luka Doncic finished with a team-high 34 points in his first game against the Celtics in a Lakers uniform.
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This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 12:12 AM.