Stephen A. Smith addresses viral confrontation with LeBron James: 'He feels like I was slighting his son'

ESPN‘s Stephen A. Smith opened up Friday’s “First Take” with a lengthy explanation to his viral confrontation with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. That came during Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks inside Crypto.com Arena.

James approached Smith courtside, taking issue with Smith’s previous comments about his son and teammate Bronny James. The NBA analyst said James spoke to him as a father in defense of his son.

Stephen A. Smith details interaction with LeBron James at Lakers-Knicks game

“[He came up to me] unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son. Can’t repeat the words because they aren’t suited for FCC airwaves, but that’s what he was doing,” Smith said. “… That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me; that was a parent, that was a father. And I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard. By all accounts, he’s obviously a wonderful family man and a wonderful father who cares very deeply about his son. Based on some of the comments that he had heard — or shall I say he thought he heard — he clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it.

“For the record his agent, and friend Rich Paul has my number. Maverick Carter who works under him has my number. LeBron James knows how to get in contact with me if he wanted to. He never called because if he had called and wanted to talk to me, I would have accepted that call. Had he wanted to see me, I would have flown out and seen him, have a conversation man-to-man. But that is not what he elected to do. Instead, he elected to confront me while I was sitting courtside. … He walked right up to me, and he said what he had to say. Apparently, he feels like I was slighting his son.”

Damn LeBron stepped to Stephen A Smith👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/ZJIDcPU4dL

— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) March 7, 2025

Stephen A. Smith blasts LeBron James for nepotism, begs Lakers to stop playing Bronny

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.”

Through 18 games this season, Bronny James is averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has averaged 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in seven appearances with the South Bay Lakers in the G League. Smith clarified his comments Friday, saying he never meant any ill will against Bronny James. His criticism was aimed at LeBron, he said, for setting unrealistic expectations for his son entering the league.

“If we had that conversation, I would have said to LeBron James, ‘I never would speak negatively about your son. I was talking about you.’ I have nothing but the best wishes for Bronny James, hope he flourishes into an NBA star. … In the same breath of time that we were talking about him, he was percolating to such a degree that the Bronny James stories had gone viral and so, we had to talk about it,” Smith said. “When I said the things that I said, I wasn’t talking about Bronny James because my attitude is he’s a rookie, he’s going to take some time to get himself together, he’ll be just fine especially with J.J. Redick coaching him.

“I was talking about the position he was put in by his dad because LeBron James has been on record in saying, ‘The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what. If y’all don’t know, he doesn’t care about what mock drafts say. He just works. Earned, not given etc.’ He also had said that his son could play on the Lakers right now and he was better than half the dudes in the NBA. In the aftermath of all of that, he instructed everybody before the [2024] Draft if y’all want me, draft Bronny. Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be.

“… My point, months ago, is that because of who you are — one of the top two players in the history of basketball in my estimation — there’s an immense amount of pressure that comes with that for his son. And when he talked like that, anything that goes awry as it pertains to his son, there’s going to be a microscopic eye even more intensified on Bronny James because of his dad and what his dad said.”

Stephen A. Smith: ‘I call it like I see it’

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.”