Skip to main content
Join Now

LeBron James fires back at Stephen A. Smith over handling of viral Bonny James confrontation: 'Are you kidding me?'

Nick Profile Picby:Nick Geddes•03/26/25•

NickGeddesNews

LeBron James
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Earlier this month, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James confronted ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith during a game against the New York Knicks inside Crypto.com Arena. Smith later revealed James was outraged over his criticism of his son Bronny James, saying, “He feels like I was slighting his son.”

During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” James addressed the confrontation and explained why he took issue with Smith’s “personal” comments about his son.

“He’s on like a Taylor Swift tour run right now,” James said. “It started off with, ‘I didn’t wanna address it, I wasn’t gonna address it, but since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.’ Are you kidding me? If there’s one person who couldn’t wait till the video had dropped so you could address it, it’s your ass. He completely missed the whole point. The whole point. Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport and criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job to criticize or being in a position to where if a guy’s not performing. That is all part of the game.

“But when you take it and you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players. I think a lot of the media — including him and I know he’s gonna be happy as hell, smiling ear to ear when he hears me talking about him, he’s gonna get home and grab some ice cream out of the f***ing freezer and sit in his chair in his tighty whities on the couch. Like, relax, bro. Relax. Seriously.”

In a Jan. 28 game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Bronny James played a career-high 15 minutes and 26 seconds. The 20-year-old went 0-of-5 from the field, including 0-of-3 from behind the arc. The next day on “First Take,” Smith pleaded with LeBron to “stop this,” adding that Bronny doesn’t belong in the NBA.

“I’m really, really trying to be as respectful as I possibly can be toward LeBron James, one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball,” Smith said Jan. 29. “I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season… father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time, an absolutely, positively wonderful story.

“And then reality sets in. We love what we’re seeing from [Bronny] in the G League, because that’s where you belong, as you hone your skills and you get better and you legitimately earn, which I believe he has the potential to do. I am rooting for Bronny James… he’s a wonderful kid, I wish him nothing but the best.”

Stephen A. Smith addresses viral confrontation with LeBron James

LeBron James felt Smith crossed the line. One day after video of the confrontation went viral, Smith spoke in length about his intentions when he originally spoke about Bronny’s start in the NBA. Smith has since appeared on multiple talk shows to address the incident. Ultimately, Smith understood where Lebron was coming from. At the same time, he said he stands by his previous comments. Smith added it’s his job as a journalist who covers the NBA to “call it like I see it.”

“I really understood where he was coming from. He was very upset, I could tell,” Smith said. “He could have called me; I would have come to see him. I would have had a conversation with him, and he could have been just as upset face-to-face as opposed to being courtside at the game. I had no idea everybody saw it until I woke up this morning, but it is what it is. In the end, as a father, I get it. I’m not offended, I’m not insulted, I don’t have any animosity towards LeBron James for this. I don’t think he cares, but neither do I. If I was in his position, I can’t definitively say I wouldn’t have done the same thing. I’m not blaming him one bit. I get it, I understand and there’s a part of me that aches and hurts because of it.

“But unlike a whole bunch of people with their podcasts that talk about the NBA, I cover the NBA. And it’s my job to talk about subject matters that matter. … I get paid to call it like I see it. And what I said at the time, I stand by what I said. What I said about LeBron is fact based because of what he said and the things he said leading up to his son getting drafted and ultimately being in the NBA on the same team as him as opposed to being a Boston Celtic or a Golden State Warrior. There is no way around that.”