Stephen A. Smith recently appeared on Out The Mud podcast with Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, where he dissected his long-running beef with LeBron James and dove into why things got escalated in the first place.
“I’ll speak on it, but I’m so over talking about it for a long time because it’s redundant. But I just answer the questions that people ask because I’m not ducking any questions, you know. Of course, I felt he was wrong. Of course, I felt he overstepped.”
“And to roll up on me in the middle of the game in the third quarter. Where I had no recourse. It’s a nationally televised game. It’s the night my new contract got signed. I’m sitting on the bench court side. I’m a personal guest of Ari Emanuel, who owns William Morris Endeavor Agency, along with Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm. I mean, I’m sitting right there with them, you know, courtside.”
“And for that stuff to happen, it was really, really unfortunate. I think for me personally, as I reflect on it, and I always tell my team, I’m not running from any conversation, no smoke, because I put people in the hot seat. I have to accept it when it comes my way.”
“He was flat out wrong. But it wasn’t just because of what he did and how he chose to do it. It’s because I didn’t do what he tried to imply that I did,” Smith said.
“You know, as I’ve said a gazillion times by now, I never went to watch Bronny play in high school because I didn’t want to judge him. If I walk into a gym, it has the industry has changed to such a degree. I walk into a gym to watch a player, and everybody wants to know what I think.”
“And I didn’t feel that would be fair to Bronny. So I never went to see him at Sierra Canyon. Never ever commented on him. He goes to college, USC, and gets a heart condition. We’re on the air. Our prayers go out to the James family. All that stuff. Nobody wishes that on anybody. We just hope he’s okay.”
“He enters the draft. He’s going to take his talents to the NBA. Everybody and their mother knew that wouldn’t be possible without his pops. I say nothing.”
“Hey, LeBron has done so much for the league. I don’t give a damn. Okay. If his son gets up in there, God bless him. You understand what I’m saying? And if he could get his son to be a Laker, God all of it. I’m not telling you anything that’s not on tape. It’s all there. It’s the evidence is there.”
“So, I did all of this, and then after I did all of that, he gets drafted by the Lakers, and then after that, he gets like 8 million. But the 55th pick in the draft the year before got like $500,000. What did I say, man?”
“‘That’s LeBron James. I don’t give a damn. Well, what he’s done for this league, he’s underpaid. So if his son could get some of that money, more power to him because that man has done too much for the league to not give if that is the way it has to come via his son, so be it.'”
“These are all things. It’s opening night. Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. were there because you got the father-son thing. If you look at the camera, I’m behind courtside on the baseline opposite from the visitor’s bench, standing up and applauding when Bronny entered the game like everybody else was cuz it was a beautiful moment for basketball.”
“At that moment, I’m thinking you’re going to have that moment, then his son is going to go to the G-League so he can develop his game. But you saw him on the bench over and over. We say nothing.”
“Here’s when I spoke up. He’s in the G-League one night, and the next night, you’ve got this brother on the court in the first quarter against Tyrese Maxey. I said now you’re crossing the damn line because he ain’t ready for that. You understand what I’m saying? He is not ready for that.”
“And where the Draymond Greens of the world and others who supported LeBron got caught up in it is because I said as a father, don’t do this. What I was saying was you are a basketball savant. I got you as number two all-time in the history of basketball.”
“You remember that press conference he did when he gave you every play that happened over the last three minutes of regulation. Like literally in sequence memory to memory. He gave you what had transpired on the basketball court.”
“The man is a savant. Y’all played against him. You know what I’m talking about. It’s not just his physical gifts. LeBron is a basketball savant. He’s brilliant, you know.”
“So I said, “Then you must know that’s not right to put him in that position because he’s in a position where he’s vulnerable. He ain’t ready.” But also equally important, you’re asking us as journalists not to do our job. Anybody else, we’re crucifying him.”
“You’re asking us to ignore doing our job because it’s you. I’m not letting you get away with that. We have a job to do. You can’t ask us to ignore some s— that you put in front of thousands in attendance and millions watching on television. That’s not right. That’s not right. And so I said so.”
“And when he rolled up on me, it was two months after the fact. I had said that like two months earlier, and two months later, here he comes. I hadn’t spoken about it since. So I’m thinking, what the hell is that about?”
“First of all, I did my job. Secondly, I didn’t say anything all those other times. It was other people. It was your boy Big Perk that sat up there and said, “I never saw a dude averaging 14 points a game be a McDonald’s All-American,” bringing into question the legitimacy of the All-American, the McDonald’s All-American status. I never said that.”
“Other people were questioning stuff. I never said those things. But evidently, and that’s where it rubbed me, because I’m the only one he rolled up on. But I wouldn’t mind if I did what they did, but I didn’t. I literally avoided doing my job to spare him and his family the scrutiny. But that wasn’t looked upon,” Smith pointed out.
“So I’m looking at it like, because you see, here’s the thing. LeBron and I have never rocked with one another. You understand? And we never, never, you know, and and and I’m fine with it. And so is he. We’re good.”
“But the point is this. His wife is the first lady of the NBA. Class personified. Beautiful human being. I’ve known his mother for years. I haven’t seen them in a long time. Always, always, always wonderful to me.”
“Mav, Rich Paul, Randy, good people, good brothers. I’ve never had any issues with any of them. So my point was that if you had a problem, all you had to do was get Rich Paul or Maverick or somebody else. ‘Stephen A, LeBron’s pretty upset. He pissed. He wants to see you.’ And I said to them, what would I have done? They’d say ‘you’d have been on the first plane to LA.'”
“That night, when he rolled up on me. I said, ‘Yo, man, we can go to the back.’ He’s like, ‘F— that.’ I’m like, ‘We go to the back. We go to the back and talk about it after the game. I’ll wait.’ And he was like, ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Go ahead, man. All right, man. No problem. Because I’m not going to make a scene courtside in the middle of the game.”
“Come on, bro. I’m not doing that. So then, after that, that wasn’t bad. That wasn’t enough. This dude goes on ESPN. And he went on there just to insult me. Now you’ve messed up because now it’s like, wait a minute. I ain’t taking that. This is the network I work for. Now you’re in my lane. Now you are in my domain. And I went in.”
“And so after I went in and said my piece, you know, I answered the questions because people like y’all ask, and I think that if the NBA community asked me a question, I owe them an answer. So I answer the question.”
“But now that we sit here today, let me be very, very clear. I don’t hate him. I don’t dislike him. I can dislike what you do without disliking who you are,” Smith clarified.
“And LeBron James is an elite basketball ambassador who has done wonders for the NBA. Everybody has benefited from it. Including yours truly,” said Smith as he pointed to himself. “If it wasn’t for him doing what he has done and big up in the NBA the way that he has, who’s to say that I would be where I am?”
“And so because of that, my attitude is, yo, I don’t like what you did. Hell, we might not even like each other. Because for a long time, I was like, I don’t like his a–. Okay, that’s, and I was like, let’s just keep it a buck and let’s put it out on Front Street.”
“But in hindsight, reflecting on it all, I’m a grown a– man. And I’m very, very happy with where my life is right now and what I’m doing for myself. I’m happy for him. I’m watching this brother, year 23, age 41, still looking better than 90% of the league.”
“We have never seen anybody, maybe Serena Williams, maybe Novak Djokovic, maybe somebody like that, but we have never truly seen anybody this great for this long.”
“And what he has done for the game, I owe it to him. I owe it to his family. I owe it to the game. I owe it to myself to be bigger than that.”
“So, I don’t like what he did, and I’m going to be authentic with that. I thought it was very, very unfair, to me personally, but I’m not going to allow that to stain who he is and what he has meant to this game,” Smith added.
“He is a brother who truly deserves to be celebrated. And I will spend the rest of my career never forgetting what he has done for the game. So that is more important than some little spat he and I had. You understand?”
“It’s over and done. Well, it was something because of how it happened and where it happened. Meaning if this was something back in the locker room or something, it would have been different. But to roll up on me courtside, it’s like really where I couldn’t really defend myself, you know?”
“It was all of that. But in the end, man, I’m thankful for it because it reminded me of what my responsibilities are. Yeah, he’s LeBron, but you know something? He’s 41. I’m 58. I’ve been on this earth a little bit longer. I’m a professional journalist.”
“I have an obligation to be fair and to appreciate his greatness and what he’s brought to the game and how many lives he has touched in such a positive way that far, far exceeds any little thing that has happened between him and me. I’m over it, and I wish him nothing but the best,” Smith concluded.
Therefore, after summarizing the entire timeline of what happened between him and James, it seems Smith has decided to be the bigger man and concede that James has played a pivotal role in putting Smith where he is today, among all the things he has done for the game of basketball.
His only issue with James seemed to be that he came at him during a nationally-televised game, not giving him a chance to defend himself, and seemingly took out the frustrations of the entire NBA media’s criticism of Bronny James on Smith alone.
Moreover, he was further annoyed that James appeared on Pat McAfee’s show on ESPN, which is the same network that employed Smith, to address their beef.
To a certain extent, I understand Smith’s frustrations, but just like ESPN members and other national TV analysts don’t give players a chance to respond when they reveal their analysis on national TV, he should not expect James to have given him a heads-up before coming at him.
It is unlikely that James will respond to this at this point in his career, especially since it has been over a year since their confrontation went viral. But if he does, Smith will hope he takes the high road as well and ends their beef.
