LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have a national television NBA tilt with the Indiana Pacers on ESPN on Wednesday, but it is not the only program involving James airing that day on the "worldwide leader" that has people's attention.
Pat McAfee, host of ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show," secured a rare long-form interview with the NBA's all-time leading scorer. The "College GameDay" icon promised that his sit-down with James, airing on Wednesday, covered "about (expletive) near everything."
Considering the context of James' public feud this month with fellow ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, fans on social media were quick to get their popcorn ready for McAfee's interview with the Lakers star.
James famously confronted Smith during the Los Angeles' 113-109 overtime win against the New York Knicks on March 6.
The next day on ESPN's "First Take," Smith revealed that James told him to "stop (expletive) with my son," in reference to his criticism of Lakers rookie Bronny James.
Smith also lamented that James did not speak with him privately to discuss the matter, stating, "LeBron James knows how to get in touch with me if he wanted to. He never called."
Three weeks later, it was Smith's ESPN colleague, McAfee, who got the call to do an interview with the four-time NBA champion. The decision by James, who had not publicly spoken about the confrontation with Smith before Wednesday, raised plenty of eyebrows among fans.
interview w Stephen A biggest opp is hilarious https://t.co/6iBLMKp0yC
— Dom (@livelikeedom) March 26, 2025
"We know why Bron is giving the 2nd biggest name at ESPN this long form interview," said one fan on X. "You gotta love it."
"Bron punking Stephen A to his face then giving his biggest opp at the network the interview every media member wants is top tier trolling," added another.
stephen a smith gotta be fuming https://t.co/N58z6Cfdoj
— (@dripface2x) March 26, 2025
"I'm in no way a LeBron fan and never will be, but sticking it to Stephen A by going on Pat's show is objectively awesome and hilarious," said one X user.
Not everybody was impressed with James' decision. One annoyed fan posted, "Bron is so lame for choosing this platform."
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This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 7:47 AM.