13 months after the court-side confrontation, Stephen A. Smith continues to prove his point. The veteran ESPN broadcaster still believes that LeBron James quarreled over the wrong reason and later pushed the wrong narrative. The Los Angeles Lakers star stated that he attacked his son, which deserved to be shut down. Here’s Smith, explaining once again that that was never the case.
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“It was very disrespectful,” Stephen A. said on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast. “I thought it was really unfair to me because, because I never, I never did what he implied that I did. And that was my issue. One night, we see him in the G League. And the next night, we see him in the first quarter, defending Tyrese Maxey at the Philadelphia 76ers. I like what the hell is going on. You can’t do that to that kid. He’s not ready for that. So it wasn’t about the kid, I was saying, ‘You’re (LeBron) a basketball savant. You’re a basketball genius. One of the greatest players who have ever played this game. You can’t put him in that position and then ask us as reporters to ignore what we’re seeing.’
“And so it was clear that when he rolled up on me, he thought that I went after his son to get at him because I critiqued him. I would never do that. I would never do that to a kid. I would never, I know how I was raised. I wouldn’t go after somebody’s kid. I would never do something like that. And to paint that narrative, just because you don’t like the fact that I don’t view you as the goat really pissed me off.”
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In this interview and his numerous previous media interactions, Stephen A. Smith claimed that his criticism of Bronny James was only about the Lakers and LeBron James’ handling of his development.
To understand why Bronny’s NBA readiness became such a flashpoint, some background is essential. Bronny suffered cardiac arrest caused by a congenital heart defect during a USC practice session in July 2023. He was released from the hospital just days later and, after missing the first eight games of the 2023-24 season, returned to play for the Trojans.
At USC, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists across 25 appearances, including six starts, while shooting 36.6% from the field. His recovery was remarkable given the severity of the health scare, but many analysts felt his single college season left him underprepared for the highest level of basketball.
Despite widespread concerns about his readiness, the Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, allowing him to play alongside his father. Throughout his rookie year, Bronny was assigned several times to the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League.
It was this back-and-forth one night in the G League, developing his game, the next night on an NBA floor defending elite guards like Tyrese Maxey, that prompted Smith’s on-air criticism.
In his 15 minutes of play, Bronny scored 0 points, missing the five shots he took. Smith had thoughts. “I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Please stop this. We all know Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad,” he said on ESPN’s First Take.
Stephen A. Smith calls out LeBron for confronting him Courtside
“It was very disrespectful. I thought it was very unfair to me. I never did what he implied that I did. That was my issue.”
(h/t @NBA__Courtside ) pic.twitter.com/PL49Uc9Ljv
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 28, 2026
Smith has been adamant that his criticism was never personal, and he points to one specific moment as evidence: he was present court-side. He applauded wholeheartedly when the James family made history together.
On October 23, 2024- the Lakers’ season opener- LeBron and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together, checking in as a unit with four minutes left in the second quarter to a massive ovation from the home crowd.
The two shared the court for about 2.5 minutes. LeBron finished the night with 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Bronny had one rebound and zero points, missing two shot attempts. It was a moment that transcended basketball- the culmination of a dream LeBron had spoken about for years.
Smith claimed that this historic game, which came months before his criticism of Bronny escalated, was something he genuinely celebrated.
That’s precisely why he has insisted the subsequent criticism of Bronny in the 76ers game was rooted purely in professional concern about player development, not in any desire to undermine LeBron’s legacy or attack his family.
Six weeks later, James approached Smith before a March 2025 win over the New York Knicks and had some things to say. Stephen A. Smith claimed the 22-time All-Star stated, “stop f— with my son.” and that the Lakers star did not stop there.
LeBron James criticized Stephen A. Smith
The 4x NBA champion went on The Pat McAfee Show later in March and accused Smith of being “on a Taylor Swift tour run” and that he “couldn’t wait until the video had dropped” so Smith could reap the publicity.
LeBron added, “Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job to criticize or to be in a position where, okay, if a guy is not performing, that is all part of the game. That’s all part of the game. But when you take it, and you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players.”
He also suggested that Smith would be “smiling from ear-to-ear” as James spoke on the Pat McAfee Show. Their beef didn’t end there.
The next day, Stephen A. Smith uploaded a 52-minute video titled “LeBron … the lies keep coming.” He even appeared on various First Take episodes, podcast appearances on Carmelo Anthony’s 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast, and even at Gil’s Arena.
All of them had one thing in common: Smith continued to maintain that he never attacked Bronny personally. While they have beefed before, recently the ESPN broadcaster has praised James Sr.
Written by
Edited by
Tanay Sahai