LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith were seen having a heated exchange.
Amid Thursday’s (March 6) NBA exhibition match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, James approached Smith with gusto, letting off a few words. The combative journalist stands up to the towering athlete as he nods his head at the then-incomprehensible message delivered to him.
On Friday (March 7), the New York native addressed the exchange on First Take, revealing that James was upset about him constantly talking ill of his son, Bronny James. Smith asserted that the “confrontation” caught him off guard and that James approached him “as a parent, not an NBA athlete.” Smith stated that he elected not to engage with the Lakers player and took it due to the “environment they were in.” However, the 57-year-old offered some words about what he would have said to the future Hall of Famer if the setting had been different.
“What I would have said… ‘I never would have spoken negatively about your son, I was talking about you, LeBron James.’ I have nothing but good wishes for Bronny James. I hope that he flourishes into an NBA star… I sincerely hope he’s the exception — he’s a wonderful kid,” Smith admitted. “He’s a rookie… he’ll be just fine. But I was talking about the position that he was put in by his dad.”
In a February episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the sports pundit called the Ohio native “soft” because he allegedly “questioned him as a father.”
“Come on y’all… It’s gotten to a point where this LeBron sensitivity is beyond the pale. You call him the second-best player in the history of the game; you’re insulting him because you’re not calling him the GOAT. You’re saying that at age 40, we have not seen anyone do what he does, but you’re pointing out that he may not have hustled back on defense in a key pivotal moment, and that’s a problem. You give him all the praise in the world when he drops 40, but he has a bad night, and you say, ‘He has a bad night,’ and you’re hating,” Smith said while playing Bronny James’ worst plays in the background and then addressing the son.
“Come on, I’m not being cruel to Bronny — I’m looking out… Do you what it that way?… Because he’s LeBron’s son, you know how y’all gon’ judge him… I didn’t want to talk about LeBron James’ son because it would be unfair to him. He is such a wonderful kid.”
Watch the video above.
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