Just about everyone in the sports world saw Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James confront ESPN "First Take" co-host Stephen A. Smith during a Lakers-Knicks game several weeks ago for talking down on his son and fellow Lakers teammate Bronny James.
While it's been a topic of conversation since, things heated up again on Wednesday after James appeared on the "Pat McAfee Show," throwing some subtle shade at Smith for completely "missing the point" of why he felt the need to approach him in public for disrespecting his son.
"He's like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now. It started off with, ‘I didn't want to address it. I wasn't going to address it, but since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.' [Explicit] are you kidding me? If there was one player that couldn't wait for the video to drop so you could address it."
James added, "another thing, he completely missed the whole point. Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players for what they do on the court. That is your job... That's all part of the game. But when you take it and get personal with it, it's my job to not only protect my damn household, but protect the players. And I think a lot of the media, including him, and I know he's going to be happy as hell. He's going to be smiling ear to ear when he hears me talking about him... like relax, bro, relax."
"He's like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now…He couldn't wait for the video to come out..."
- LeBron on Stephen A. Smith
(Via @PatMcAfeeShow )
pic.twitter.com/Ex7qQD9Vi3
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 26, 2025
Just a few hours later, Stephen A. Smith responded to LeBron James' recent comments on his show, "The Stephen A. Smith Show," going as far as to say he would immediately start throwing punches if James laid his hands on him. The statement quickly went viral on social media, but Smith made sure to clarify what would happen if he and James ever found themselves in a fighting confrontation.
"Nice try folks," Smith posted. "On my show, I said I would've swung on @KingJames had he slapped me - like lots of y'all said I was scared he would've done a few weeks ago. I also said immediately after that I would've gotten my [explicit] thoroughly kicked by the 6'8", 250lb Goliath, but folks just left that part of my Youtube sentence out, huh? Okay. Have fun!"
Nice try folks. On my show, I said I would've swung on @KingJames had he slapped me - like lots of y'all said I was scared he would've done a few weeks ago. I also said immediately after that I would've gotten my ass thoroughly kicked by the 6'8", 250lb Goliath, but folks just…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 27, 2025
While tensions have certainly been stirred and spiraled out of control a little bit, Stephen A. Smith has remained consistent with his previous comments that sparked the drama, emphasizing that it was never about Bronny, but rather about LeBron.
However, James, who hadn't openly addressed the situation since his appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show," still seems to harbor some frustration towards Smith and the way he discusses players.
Related: LeBron James Shares Major Personal Announcement on Wednesday
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This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM.