Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is typically front and center of NBA discourse, but the past couple of days have been dramatically different.
In making a rare television appearance on ESPN's "Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday, James denounced the closeness of his relationship with analyst Brian Windhorst, condemned the popular notion he spends $1 million on his body every year and started a war with Stephen A. Smith over their spat in January.
The latter of the three has made the most headlines as Smith has since gone on multiple rants about James on ESPN's "FirstTake," while James has seemingly been unfazed through it all. With the NBA world up in arms over the Smith-James beef, the four-time NBA champion took a break to shed some light on five-star forward Koa Peat committing to Arizona.
In response to Peat's commitment, James had a simple message using an emoji writing, " (bear) down."
The Wildcats landed the No. 8 player in the country on Thursday, as he headlines a class featuring James' younger son, Bryce James. Ironically, Peat announced his commitment to the Wildcats on the "Pat McAfee Show," which has gotten a fair share of headlines since Wednesday morning.
According to 247Sports, Arizona's recruiting class ranks as the No. 16 class in the country, with two of the three commits ranking within the top 35 players in the country.
While some may see this as James supporting his son, this could also be an instance of him showing how unbothered he is by all of the criticism Smith and the "FirstTake" crew have fired his way throughout the day. Regardless, James will likely have his eye on all Arizona Wildcats news moving forward now that Bryce is headed there next fall.
Related: Stephen A. Smith Issues Public Apology After False LeBron James Accusations
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This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 5:27 PM.