Stephen A. Smith spoke on First Take and addressed the now-viral clip of LeBron James confronting him. He confirmed that LeBron had pulled up on him and told him not to talk about Bronny James. And while he understands why the King was so upset, he questions why James didn’t reach out privately. Furthermore, he reminded the public that he was critical of LeBron’s handling of the situation, not Bronny himself.
“That was LeBron James, coming up to me unexpectedly and confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son. Can’t repeat the words because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves. That’s what he was doing… I had no intention of talking about this at all. The reason why is because it was a one-on-one confrontation… This thing had gone viral.”
“Ultimately, it was unavoidable, and I had to discuss it. That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a father. I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard… Based on some of the comments he thought he heard, he clearly took exceptions with some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it…”
“He never called. Had he called and wanted to talk to me, I would have accepted that call. Had he wanted to see me, I would have flown out and had a conversation with him man-to-man. That is not what he elected to do. Instead, he elected to confront me while I was sitting courtside… He walked right up to me and said what he had to say. He feels like I was slighting his son.”
“Now let me tell you what I feel. What I would have said if we were in a different environment, because I was not going to engage in a confrontation – I would never speak negatively about your son. I was talking about you, LeBron James. I wish nothing but the best for Bronny James…”
“At the time when we were talking about him, the Bronny James story had gone viral, and so we had to talk about him. I was talking about the position that he was put in by his dad… Because of who you are… There’s going to be a microscopic eye, even more intensified because of his dad and what his dad had said.”
“That’s where I was coming from. I could be a bit more outspoken about it. To be in that moment, to have LeBron look at me the way that he did… It was all about his son.”
.@stephenasmith describes his moment with LeBron James last night at Lakers-Knicks. pic.twitter.com/ZZyUnOOwYZ
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 7, 2025
Clearly, things got very tense with LeBron James on the night. And while Stephen A. Smith did the right thing by acknowledging why James confronted him, he also made excuses for what he said on air. A wily individual such as Smith should know that using Bronny as a way to criticize LeBron is just as bad, if not worse, than unfairly criticizing Bronny James himself.
Smith also noted that he would have gladly had a conversation with LeBron James had he known that James was upset and wanted to speak. But fans on the internet unearthed a podcast clip from his show a few weeks ago, where he admitted that members of Klutch Sports, the agency run by LeBron James’ agent and friend Rich Paul, informed him to stop making salacious comments about Bronny.
Rather than reach out to LeBron, Smith opted to insinuate that LeBron and Bronny were ‘soft’ for having their representatives reach out to him. Given that this was the energy Smith had when he knew LeBron was upset, why would James extend Smith the courtesy and have a conversation with him?
All in all, hopefully, this is the end of this matter, and all sides can move on. Smith made things personal by going after Bronny James. And LeBron responded by issuing a warning to the ESPN analyst. Things escalating beyond this point would only make things worse going forward.
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