Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James do not share an amicable relationship. Yet, his daughter seems to have a soft spot in her heart for his family. Specifically, for his younger son, Bryce James.
The high school senior recently appeared on her father’s podcast, “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” where she seemingly joked about having a crush on the Arizona Wildcats player.
“Do I hate LeBron James? I’m about to get clipped for this. I don’t think he would see this because, why would he? I remember Bryce James, right? He’s a great player, and there’s Bronny, too. But I remember I used to have the biggest crush on Bryce James, about a year ago.”
“So it was really awkward [during the beef] just between Bryce and me. He doesn’t know who I am, which was really difficult for me to deal with,” she further added.
“What?” said Stephen A. Smith in disbelief.
“I’m joking,” she said in her defense as her father responded, “You better be!”
Stephen A Smith’s daughter said she used to have a crush on Bryce James
Stephen A in shambles rn 😭 pic.twitter.com/LxO3f9ccfy
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 21, 2025
Despite her father’s strained relationship with LeBron James, she admires Bryce James’ skills on the court; that part did not seem like a joke.
Fans on social media roasted the ESPN analyst, and some believed it was scripted for views, but Stephen A. Smith seemed to be in sheer disbelief when he heard his daughter say that on the show.
“She just squashed the beef between Stephen A and LeBron.”
“Imagine your grandpa being LeBron James and your other grandpa being Steven A Smith.”
“New low for Stephen A. content, and that says a lot.”
“All @stephenasmith and his entire family think about is the James family… Holy sh**.”
“Bryce got the chance to do the funniest thing ever.”
“Imagine your kid having a crush on ur opponent’s kid.”
The beef between Smith and James started in late January 2025 when the ESPN analyst went on the “First Take” show and criticized Bronny James, LeBron’s elder son, for being in the NBA, saying he should be in the G-League but has a spot on the roster due to his father.
These allegations of nepotism did not sit well with LeBron James, who confronted Smith about this after a Lakers game in January. Smith recently also went on a podcast and claimed that he and James don’t like each other and no one can mediate their differences anymore.
While Samantha Smith claims to be joking about Bryce James here, she has overshadowed her father on social media multiple times. In the same episode, she roasted her father for having a massive forehead. Earlier, she went on a live broadcast and essentially took over the segment on ESPN.
If she decides to, then she can have a career like her father as a media figure in some way or another. Fans love seeing her, and it will be interesting to see if this ‘joke’ reaches Bryce James. The Arizona Wildcats player is rumored to be dating Sadie Johnson and will likely not respond to this anyway, especially considering his father’s beef with Stephen A. Smith.
