On the court, there are plenty of storylines to go around in the NBA. However, the most entertaining subplot to this season may be the ongoing beef between Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.
The feud started when James confronted Smith at a Lakers game for comments that the TV personality made about James' son, Bronny. Since then, the two have been going back and forth, with the beef coming to an apex on Wednesday. James made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, where he took some shots at Smith.
After the First Take host went on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, and said that he would have “swung” on James if he had put his hands on him during the initial altercation, James ended the day with a savage Instagram post trolling the comment.
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James' post earned comments from stars across all sports such as Lamar Jackson and Nick Kyrgios.
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In between the appearance with Pat McAfee and the Instagram post, James spent his evening battling the Indiana Pacers. Even after a subpar performance, James tipped in a Luka Doncic miss at the buzzer to give the Lakers a win and snap a three-game losing streak in Hollywood.
James had plenty to say during his exclusive with McAfee, including taking some shots at ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst, who has covered James across his multiple stops during his career. However, the back and forth between James and ESPN's most recognizable personality has stolen the headlines.
Smith's initial comments about Bronny James that started the whole feud highlighted how the younger James was underwhelming as a rookie in the NBA and urged James to “stop.” Since then, Smith has accused James of lying and James confronted Smith as a father trying to protect his son.
Now that the beef has hit a new high, there are sure to be many more jabs to be thrown between the two. Smith will undoubtedly have the chance to respond on Thursday's First Take.