Stephen A. Smith on courtside moment with LeBron James: 'That wasn't a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent, that was a father'
ESPN talking head Stephen A. Smith addressed his exchange with LeBron James before Thursday night's Los Angeles Lakers game against the New York Knicks in LA.
What many looked at believing it was a conversation, Smith described on Friday's "First Take" as a "confrontation" with James, who was upset over comments made about his son, Bronny.
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The interaction was brief and it appeared that James told Smith to "keep my son out of this s***, bro."
Damn LeBron stepped to Stephen A Smith👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/ZJIDcPU4dL
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) March 7, 2025
"That wasn't a basketball player confronting me," Smith said on Friday. "That was a parent, that was a father. 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, very deeply about his son. Based on some of the comments that he had heard, or shall I say I think he thought he heard, clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say and he confronted me about it."
Smith went on to say that he would never speak negatively about Bronny James and that his comments were about LeBron himself and the position that Bronny was put in being on a team with his father.
In January, Smith urged James to "stop this," referring to Bronny James' need for more development time in the G-League.
'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," Smith said. "I am rooting for Bronny James … he's a wonderful kid, I wish him nothing but the best.'
.@stephenasmith describes his moment with LeBron James last night at Lakers-Knicks. pic.twitter.com/ZZyUnOOwYZ
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 7, 2025
While Smith did defend LeBron saying he would have done the same as a father, he wasn't backing down from his criticisms.
'I also get paid to call it like I see it. And what I said at the time, I stand by what I said,' Smith said. 'It wasn't even reporting. The facts were out there. And what I was saying about LeBron is fact-based because of what he said and the things that he said leading up to his son being drafted and ultimately being in the NBA on the same team as him… there is no way around that. And when you're raised as a journalist professionally, you don't want enemies, but you ain't paid to make friends. You've gotta call it like you see it.'
This was the latest back-and-forth between James and Smith after the two engaged in last week's "face of the NBA" conversation and Smith took exception to the "b.s." James said about how the league is covered.
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