Stephen A. Smith saw Bronny James have his first decent night in the NBA—during a blowout loss in which the opposing team’s defense played like a matador—and it changed his entire outlook.
Smith, who got into hot water because he begged LeBron James to pull the plug on the Bronny experiment—you know, like we’ve all begged him to do—suddenly saw a glimmer that he “belonged.”
“I’ve always believed that this kid has the potential, once I watched him, to be in the NBA,” the First Take host said, knowing full-well he never thought he had potential.
“He looked like someone who belonged,” Smith added.
Bronny scored 17 points in 30 minutes of play, making 7 of his 10 shots. All were career highs.
Stephen A. Smith: ‘I Might Have Been Wrong’
I’m going to add some context to this since it’s pretty obvious that Smith isn’t interested in doing so. Bronny James has played in 22 games in the NBA, and in only one of those games has he played anything resembling basketball.
How bad has it been? This “stellar” performance that Smith is talking about raised Bronny’s scoring average to—cue the sad trombone—2.3 points per game and his field goal percentage to a paltry 35%.
The only time he’s ever shown signs of life has been in blowout games for the Los Angeles Lakers, where nobody is playing defense. This game was no different, as the Milwaukee Bucks trampled the Lake Show 118-89.
It was over before it began, as the Bucks surged to a 15-point lead after one quarter.
I’d also like to add that the points had to come from somewhere. The Lakers had Papa LeBron, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves all sitting out with injuries.
It’s almost like they intentionally rested their top three scorers to give Bronny a chance. Which, you can’t put past the Lakers, since they purposely tanked their draft to pick Bronny in the second round just to keep his Dad.
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith Keeps Trying To Explain Why LeBron James Went After Him: ‘Never About Bronny’
Why The 180?
Smith’s change of heart oddly coincides with the fact that LeBron confronted him on the court in a highly contentious public moment because the basketball analyst pointed out that Bronny isn’t, nor will he ever be, an NBA player.
Smith spoke on the matter on The Stephen A. Smith Show. There, he suggested that LeBron said to him, “Stop [expletive] on my son.”
Smith pleaded with LeBron and the Los Angeles Lakers several weeks ago to end the failed Bronny experiment.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this,” he said at the time. “We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”
The first chance he gets, and suddenly it’s “Bronny belongs.”
Does it get any more phony than Stephen A. Smith?
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