Stephen A. Smith says he and LeBron James have ‘no relationship' after bitter feud
During an appearance on former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas' 'Gil's Arena' podcast Friday, Smith said that he has zero contact with James and does not have any interest in ever speaking to him again.
'There's no situation and there's no relationship,' Smith said. 'He doesn't like me, and I don't like him.'
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3 Stephen A. Smith looks on during the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 2 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 8, 2025 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
NBAE via Getty Images
Smith's comments stem from his feud with the 21-time All-Star earlier this year, when the two threw jabs at each other during various appearances on ESPN, which ultimately led to an in-person confrontation during a game in March.
The ESPN sports personality added that other things happened between him and James 'behind the scenes' that the public does not know about.
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'All I would say is people don't know the things that have happened behind the scenes,' Smith said. 'Things that have been said, who they've been said to. The kind of things that have been engaged in in an effort to hurt me, along with contemporaries and others.'
Smith also mentioned how he did not appreciate how James came at him on 'The Pat McAfee Show,' which airs directly after 'First Take' on ESPN.
3 Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James arguing with the ref in the second half of a game against the Knicks.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
'There's a lot of s–t that I don't say. And there's a reason that I feel the way that I do. And the last straw was him approaching me and turning the Bronny thing into something about me attacking somebody's family, when it was him I was talking about. Not Bronny.
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'And then to go on 'The Pat McAfee Show,' which comes directly on after my show. On the channel that I work on. To insult me. Now, people can get into all kind of components that go into it and all that other stuff. I have nothing to say.'
3 Stephen A. Smith looks on before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers during Game 3 of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 11, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.
NBAE via Getty Images
Smith concluded by saying that he plans to only mention James in the context of NBA analysis going forward.
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'I'm never going to denigrate any employer, any partner, or myself by getting into anything excessively, unnecessarily, when it comes to him or anybody else,' Smith said. 'I'm going to do my job. I'm going to cover the game of basketball.
'But if I never, ever speak to him again in life, that will be OK. And I'm good with it.'
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