One of the most shocking and unexpected moments of this season came when Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James confronted ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith at Crypto.com Arena during a game versus the New York Knicks. James took offense with things Smith said on-air about his son Bronny, leading to the viral confrontation.
The two went back-and-forth for a bit in interviews and on social media, though things have since calmed down. Smith was recently asked about this in an interview with Danyel Smith of The Rolling Stone and said that the main issue is that he and LeBron simply don’t like each other:
“I have nothing to say about that. I don’t like him, and he don’t like me. He’s one of the greatest players who’s ever lived. I’m going to show him that respect, and I’m going to cover him objectively. When he does great, I’m gonna applaud. When he doesn’t do great, I’m not gonna applaud. He hid behind his son [Los Angeles Laker Bronny James], tried to make something out of nothing, as if I was dogging his son, which I was not. The real issue was we don’t like each other. And he used that as an excuse to confront me. I got it.”
Smith would add that even though he and James don’t like each other, it won’t stop him from doing his job in a professional manner:
“Meaning I understand that we don’t like each other. We’re never gonna like each other. It’s not gonna stop me from doing my job. He’ll be treated just like any other player I cover. Nobody is going to get me to compromise my professional integrity. I don’t have to like you to be fair to you.”
When asked what was the basis for the issues between himself and the Lakers superstar, Smith said it could be a combination of a number of things including a personal issue, a power dynamic or simply just their personalities not meshing:
“One could argue it’s all of the above. Over the course of his 22 years in this league, and the stories that I’ve had to cover about him, about his teams, decisions that he’s influenced his teams to make, trades, coaching firings, etc., etc. — all of which he’s played a role in. I’ve had to cover things that have not made him very happy, and I don’t care.”
LeBron isn’t the first athlete to have an issue with Smith and likely won’t be the last. The two simply don’t get along which is normal, it just so happens that these two happen to be two of the biggest faces in all of sports. But hopefully they are able to move on without any more major issues or confrontations happening between them as LeBron finishes his playing career with the Lakers.
Lakers’ LeBron James could join Amazon Prime Video NBA coverage after retirement
LeBron James is close to retirement and has a number of possibilities at his disposal once his career is over. Being an analyst is one of those options and being at ESPN with Stephen A. Smith could very well be possible, but so is another growing media company in Amazon Prime Video.
And James’ growing relationship with Prime Video could potentially lead to him joining their NBA coverage in his post-playing career.
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