LeBron James could’ve had a quiet week away from NBA basketball as he recovers from his groin strain, but he’s been embroiled in the news. James confronted Stephen A. Smith courtside during a game against the New York Knicks over Smith asking his son Bronny James to quit playing basketball, which has since become a saga.
People are arguing about who went too far here – Smith for his harsh take on a 19-year-old solely because he’s LeBron’s son or LeBron for confronting a media member in such a public fashion. FOX Sports analyst Ric Bucher, who’s an avid critic of LeBron, has surprisingly blamed this incident on Smith.
“They perceive it as a sports commentator or someone in the media overstepping their bounds. Making something that wasn’t about sports, making it personal and maybe doing it for attention and clips as opposed to being genuine commentary.”
“The problem with the conversation around Bronny is whether Bronny belongs in the NBA or is a legitimate NBA player, and LeBron’s part in that, what Bronny’s potential is. Then there is where Stephen A. took it. ‘I’m begging you as a father, don’t do this to your son.’ That’s what made it personal.”
“Think about LeBron James and the fact he grew up without a dad. By all accounts, he wants to be the dad he never had, he wants to be a good dad to his kids. Stephen A was basically saying publicly that you’re not being a good dad to your kids and I’m going to pull you up on that. That’s where it went out of bounds.”
“I actually don’t have a problem with LeBron’s response. I don’t think Stephen A was genuine, I thought it was theater. When you get into something that means so much to LeBron James, he’s going to get into that.”
“Other players are going to look at it in the same way. You’re talking about my family, you’re not talking about an NBA player now. They’re going to feel some kind of way about that.”
"It was someone in the media overstepping their bounds…making it personal and maybe doing it for attention and clips as opposed to being genuine commentary."
🎙@RicBucher & @GottliebShow on the Lebron and Stephen A. confrontation. pic.twitter.com/2IHr39sgHO
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) March 12, 2025
This might be one of the best summations of the incident we have seen. It also seems like a genuine answer from Bucher, who has previously been a harsh critic of LeBron himself. Even just one week ago, Bucher claimed LeBron can’t be considered a Lakers great and has piled criticism onto the star for years.
Even still, he seemed to have the most level-headed response as to why this situation had gotten as bad as it had. It’s hard to blame LeBron for doing what he did over such a personal dig.
It’s also quite straightforward, as James just had a conversation with Smith over it that’s been blown out of proportion. There weren’t threat issues, it was just a message, that any NBA player regardless of stature shares with the media.
Smith’s body language during LeBron’s confronting him seemed non-confrontational, as did his first appearance on First Take after the incident. It seemingly ramped up over the last few days after Smith called LeBron ‘weak’ for confronting him, which has extended this story’s life cycle.
This started before LeBron even picked up the groin injury he’s been out with.
People have been criticizing Bronny as a player all year long, but LeBron didn’t corner everyone who was doing so. The second it became about his skills as a father is when he took objection, as should be his right.
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