Stephen A. Smith, you may be surprised, is still talking about his confrontation with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. Except this time, he wants fans to know he was loaded for bear if the 6′ 9″, 250 lb forward even thought about touching him.
In a wild twist to the ongoing saga, Smith absolutely tore into James during his recent show.
“When he approached me sitting courtside at that game against the New York Knicks, when he rolled up on me I didn’t know he was gonna roll up on me,” Smith said. “I had no idea, but when he said what he had to say I was in no position to give any kind of retort without making a scene.”
“It was during the third quarter, it was fresh out of a timeout, it was him walking to the basketball court. It was on national television, the cameras were rolling and had I done something what do ya’ll want me to do? You want this to be a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?”
Smith proceeded to accurately describe what would have gone down if James had touched him.
“And let me state for the record while we bring up that, let me assure you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my ass kicked because if that man put his hands on me I would’ve immediately swung on him,” said the ESPN personality. “Immediately. That I’m not going to tolerate.”
Stephen A Smith says he would’ve swung on LeBron
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 26, 2025
“If that man would’ve put his hands on me. I would’ve immediately swung on him. Immediately.”
(h/t @gifdsports )
pic.twitter.com/PwMkLrRZYL
LeBron James Slams Stephen A Smith
Granted, Stephen A. Smith has done most of the talking since then, but LeBron James deserves a heavy dose of criticism. He’s gone after the NBA analyst for nothing more than pointing out that his son Bronny is bad at basketball—which he is.
In a highly contentious public moment earlier this month, LeBron confronted him on the court because the basketball analyst pointed out that Bronny isn’t a legitimate NBA player.
Smith discussed the matter on The Stephen A. Smith Show. There, he suggested that LeBron told him, “Stop [expletive] on my son.”
LeBron appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday and criticized the ESPN talking head, saying he “completely missed the whole point.”
“Never would I ever not allow people who talk about the sport to criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job to criticize… That is all part of the game,” he said after confronting Smith and telling him to stop criticizing poor Bronny.
“When you take it and get personal with it, it’s my job not only to protect my damn household but protect the players.”
“I think a lot of the media, including him – and I know he’s going to be happy as hell when he hears me talking about him,” James continued. “He’s going to 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. Relax, bro.”
“Stephen A Smith is on a Taylor Swift tour run right now 😂😂
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 26, 2025
He completely missed the whole point..
He got personal with it and it’s my job to not only protect my own household but also all the players” @KingJames #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/LKKFmvtFWM
RELATED: Stephen A. Smith After LeBron Confronted Him: I Always Knew This Bronny Kid Was Good
Poor LeBron
Stephen A. 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.”
And for that, James blew a gasket.
Is there a bigger primadonna in all of sports than LeBron James? From the constant flopping to having fans removed by security because they hurt his feelings, and now to trying to intimidate a much smaller guy because he dares to point out that Bronny probably couldn’t compete in an over-40 rec league right now.
But hey, it worked. The NBA doesn’t have the stones to fine James for threatening a member of the media, and look, Stephen A. completely changed his tune on Bronny after he finally hit a few buckets in a blowout game in which half the team was out with injury.
“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.
No, no he doesn’t. And LeBron can sit on the couch in his tighty-whities, eating ice cream all he wants, and it won’t change that fact.
More about:NBA News