Stephen A. Smith isn’t pulling punches when it comes to his broken relationship with LeBron James.
During a brutally honest appearance on Gil’s Arena, the ESPN analyst revealed just how far things have deteriorated between him and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. From professional boundaries to personal betrayals, Smith made it clear that whatever bond once existed between the two is now long gone, and he’s perfectly fine with that.
“There’s no relationship,” said Smith on Gil’s Arena. “He doesn’t like me and I don’t like him. There’s nobody who can mediate. I don’t talk about him unless I’m asked. Some people say, ‘Well, why do you talk about him?’ Because I was asked. This is what I do for a living, so how the hell am I gonna get away with saying ‘no comment?’”
Still, Smith was willing to separate the player from the person. He praised LeBron’s impact on the game and his accomplishments as a basketball icon, calling him the second-greatest player ever, but made it clear that admiration stops at the baseline.
“I have no desire to talk about him. He is, in my mind, the second greatest player in the history of basketball,” Smith added. “He’s been an incredible ambassador to the game of basketball. His respect has been earned, not given… but that’s the basketball player, not the man.”
Behind the scenes, Smith says the situation is far more personal and far more toxic. Without giving specifics, he referenced alleged efforts to damage his reputation and made it clear he’d be perfectly fine never speaking to LeBron again.
“People don’t know the things that have happened behind the scenes, the kind of things that have been engaged in an effort to hurt me,” Stephen A. continued. “There’s a lot of sh*t that I know that I don’t say… If I never, ever speak to him in life, I’m good with it.”
If LeBron James (40) is the king of basketball, Stephen A. Smith is the king of NBA media, for better or worse. While some fans detest the ESPN star, he’s usually pretty good about maintaining a healthy relationship with the players.
LeBron James is different. While we don’t know what it is that started their beef, James and Stephen A. have been going back and forth for years now, and apparently, there’s still much we don’t know.
Their biggest clash to date was somewhat recently, after Smith had some choice words about LeBron’s nepotism regarding his son, Bronny James. Stephen A. called on LeBron “as a father,” practically begging him to stop putting needless pressure on his son.
LeBron responded by confronting Mr. Smith courtside at a Lakers game, in a heated exchange that went viral online. Things haven’t been the same since.
For all his media firepower, Stephen A. Smith rarely draws a personal line this thick. But when it comes to LeBron James, the line is bold, intentional, and deeply rooted in more than basketball.
Whatever happened behind closed doors may never fully come to light, but one thing is clear: this feud is real, and reconciliation is off the table. The player may still be respected — but the man, in Smith’s eyes, is someone he’s ready to leave in the past.
