ESPN star Stephen A. Smith spoke at length about his viral courtside interaction with LeBron James last week, and initially appeared empathetic about his gripe; however, the popular sports analyst expanded on his thoughts this week, calling the Lakers superstar’s approach about the issue “weak.”
The heated confrontation took place during the third quarter of the Lakers’ overtime win over the New York Knicks on Thursday. It seemingly centered on James’ issue with Smith’s commentary on Bronny James.
Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome on Oct. 23, 2024. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
The following day, during an appearance on “First Take,” Smith called the interaction “unexpected” but said he did not harbor any ill-will towards James because he understood the position he was in.
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“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father. I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in that regard. By all accounts, he’s obviously a wonderful family man and father who cares very, very deeply about his son, and based on some of the comments he had heard — or shall I say I think he thought he heard — clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it.”
However, another viral video of James discussing the confrontation with former teammate and current ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson on Saturday has reignited the issue.
“I thought it was weak, I thought it was some bulls—. But in the moment, I knew that I was listening to a father,” Smith said Tuesday during an appearance on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast.
LeBron James, #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers, looks on during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 13, 2025 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
Smith reiterated that he was caught off guard by the confrontation, and he expanded on the conversation he had with James.
“He said, ‘Yo, you gotta stop talking s— about my son. You gotta stop f—ing with my son – that’s my son. That’s my son.”
Smith said the initial confrontation was about what James “thought” Smith said about his son, which is why he was surprised. However, the conversation with Jefferson was centered on Smith’s actual criticism, which centered on James’ push for his son to get drafted and play in the league as a rookie before he was ready.
“I thought that he misrepresented the argument, I was glad he did,” Smith continued. “Because what he was really talking about, which was confirmed with his conversation with Richard Jefferson – is that I was talking about him as a father. Had he said that to me, I wouldn’t have been thrown off. I would’ve came right back at him — yes I was, I was talking about you, you did this s—.”
LeBron James, #23, and Bronny James, #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers, on the court for the first time during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 22, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
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Bronny James was drafted out of USC in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 18 games this season and is averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.
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