LeBron James discusses his feud with the ESPN Commentator Stephen A. Smith and the former’s criticism of James’ son Bronny, Smith retaliates
On March 6th, 2025, NBA Legend LeBron James had a run-in with the ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith over the latters’ comments on James’ son and teammate Bronny James. While the feud began as a confrontation, it has now evolved into an ugly rivalry. While James has addressed Smith’s confrontation, the feud between the two has escalated even further.
It began with a few comments by Smith on Bronny James and how he is not ready for NBA action and shouldn’t go to the G-league. This was followed by an exchange of comments between the two parties. Later, the already upset Lebron James confronted the commentator outside a Lakers game, demanding he stop criticizing his son.
According to sources, James said, “
Yo, you gotta stop talking s** about my son. You gotta stop f**ing with my son. That’s my son, that’s my son!”
However, Smith was quick to respond, calling James’ confrontation “bulls*** and weak”.
He also reiterated his position on Bronny James, saying that discussing the latter’s basketball journey and selection was within his journalistic rights.
James Comments and the Escalation on Instagram
The feud took another intense turn when James posted a video mocking Smith on Instagram. The video was an old clip in which one can see Smith throwing punches while training. Below it, the caption was filled with 14 laughing emojis and the words “WHOMP WHOMP WHOMPPPPPPPP.”
Courtesy: YouTube
Unsurprisingly, Smith hit back on a segment of ‘First Take’. Criticising James, Smith said that the basketball player continued to be “in his feelings” since he was upset that Smith constantly ranked Michael Jordan above James.
“He puts out some pages about me boxing from a decade ago with two torn rotator cuffs. Fine, no problem. It’s embarrassing, I’ll admit that. But it shows how petty LeBron has become,” Smith said.
The Current Status of the Feud
While there has been a consistent back-and-forth between James and Smith, the feud has now taken a new turn. On Wednesday, James appeared on the Pat McAfee show and defended his public bashing of Smith.
“He’s on a Taylor Swift tour run right now,” James said. “It started off with , ‘I didn’t want to address it; I wasn’t going to address it, but since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.’”
Once again, Smith took to his show ‘First Take’ on ESPN, dragging the late Kobe Bryant and James’ former teammate Dwayne Wade into the feud. The commentator claimed that James missed Bryant’s memorial service after he and his daughter died from a helicopter crash in 2020. He also added that there were other reasons, apart from the legend’s emotional passing, which caused James to miss the memorial.
Courtesy: YouTube
“I wish that you’d be happy with the things that I haven’t brought up. I never brought up, really, I never really discussed why you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service,” Smith said.
Smith went one step further and questioned James’ absence from Dwayne Wade’s induction into the NBA Hall of fame.
“OK, but the fact is you wasn’t at the Hall of Fame induction of a brother that’s going to drastically assist you being a Hall of Famer because he helped you become the champion that you are, and he was a big brother to you. I brought up none of these things. I brought up none of these things.”‘
The feud between James and Smith is far from over and it remains to be seen what turns it takes. Whether it would be for better or for worse, only time will tell.
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