We are still seeing the ripples from that heated courtside confrontation between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith last week. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader wasn’t happy about how the outspoken analyst was talking about his son Bronny, who’s had a rough start to his pro career.
Smith called LeBron’s approach “weak” during a recent episode of First Take. The face-off happened during the third quarter of the Lakers’ overtime win against the Knicks on Thursday night.
The ESPN personality described the interaction as “unexpected” but showed some understanding toward LeBron’s position.
“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father,” Smith explained.
“I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in that regard. By all accounts, he’s obviously a wonderful family man and father who cares very, very deeply about his son.”
Smith then revealed what triggered the confrontation: “Based on some of the comments he had heard โ or shall I say I think he thought he heard โ clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it.”
Despite showing compassion for the 40-year-old superstar, Smith made it clear that James isn’t his pick for the greatest of all time.
The drama flared up again days later when another video went viral showing LeBron discussing the incident with former teammate and current ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson on Saturday.
Smith didn’t hold back when talking to Gilbert Arenas on Tuesday’s podcast episode.
“I thought it was weak, I thought it was some bullsโ. But in the moment, I knew that I was listening to a father,” he said. “He said, ‘Yo, you gotta stop talking sโ about my son. You gotta stop fโing with my son โ that’s my son. That’s my son.'”
Bronny is struggling through his rookie season with the Lakers after being picked in the second round of last year’s draft out of USC.
The 19-year-old has appeared in 18 games so far but is only averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.
