LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their eighth straight win on Thursday night with a thrilling comeback victory over the New York Knicks in overtime.
After the game though, a lot of the headlines were not about what happened on the court. That’s because at the end of the third quarter, James was caught on video confronting ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who was sitting courtside at the game:
Wonder what LeBron was saying to Stephen A smith here pic.twitter.com/EN50Cth0Mr
— FlightMike (Mikerophone) (@TheFlightMike) March 7, 2025
LeBron was confronting Smith about some of the things he recently said about James’ son Bronny. Smith called out James as a father after Bronny got some minutes in the Lakers’ loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and it didn’t go well. Here is the rant from Jan. 29 that appeared to have set LeBron over the edge:
"I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this." 😳 @stephenasmith reacts to Bronny James' play in the Lakers 118-104 loss to the 76ers. pic.twitter.com/bk5D0DS42N
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 29, 2025
With the clip of LeBron confronting Stephen A. going viral, the latter naturally addressed it at the top of ESPN’s First Take on Friday morning:
There is a lot of unpack here but the main thing is that Smith said LeBron confronted him as a father, not as a basketball player.
“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son. I can’t repeat the words because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves,” Smith said.
While Stephen A. wasn’t happy with the setting of where this confrontation took place, courtside at Crypto.com Arena in front of thousands of people and cameras, as a father himself he actually understood why LeBron did it.
LeBron and Bronny have been the subject of a lot of criticism for the way the Lakers have handled the latter’s rookie season, although it is worth pointing out that he has developed tremendously already and has been playing at a high level in the G League.
Regardless, there is always gonna be criticism thrown LeBron’s way and he knows that and can handle it. His confrontation with Smith was him looking out for his son though, as all good parents do. In the First Take segment, Smith clearly had a different demeanor than usual, so it would appear that James’ message got through to him.
Stephen A. Smith makes stunning LeBron James admission
This all comes on the heels of Stephen A. Smith actually giving praise to LeBron James earlier in the week for his longevity. Smith admitted James has that over Michael Jordan, who he has made clear on many occasions is the greatest player of all time in his eyes.
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