Stephen A. Smith says LeBron James confronted him as ‘a daddy’ — not star player — over Bronny comments

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LeBron James, left, confronted ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on Thursday at the Lakers’ game against the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times; Allen Berezovsky / Getty Images)

It’s said that sometimes the best defense is offense. LeBron James took that approach Thursday night when he confronted Stephen A. Smith courtside at a Lakers game and scolded him, telling him in no uncertain terms to stop talking about Bronny James, LeBron’s son and teammate.

Smith, who reportedly has agreed to a five-year, $100-million contract to continue his lengthy career with ESPN, responded Friday morning by opening “First Take” with a subdued explanation of why LeBron James was upset with him.

First, though, he confirmed the topic James addressed.

“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son,” Smith said. “I can’t repeat the words because they aren’t suited for FCC airwaves.”

Smith questioned why James chose to confront him at a game at Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers beat the New York Knicks in overtime, rather than privately through a phone call or face-to-face meeting. And he said that he recognized James was speaking not as a “superstar basketball player,” but as a “daddy.”

Read more: Luka Doncic and LeBron lift Lakers to wild OT victory over Knicks for eighth straight win

But Smith’s central point was that his earlier criticism had been directed at LeBron, not Bronny, saying, “I was talking about the position [Bronny] was put in by his dad.”

Before Bronny was drafted in June by the Lakers, LeBron made it clear he wanted his son to be his teammate, and Smith was among many journalists who believed the union was forced and placed undue pressure on the then-19-year-old whose only experience beyond high school was 25 games as a role player at USC.

For his part, Bronny didn’t express the same enthusiasm, saying at the NBA scouting combine a month before the draft, “My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and of course, you know, get to the NBA. … I never thought about just…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/stephen-smith-says-lebron-james-185408935.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2025-03-07 18:54:00

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