LeBron James tells Pat McAfee it was ‘my job’ to defend Bronny against Stephen A. Smith

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Lakers star LeBron James directs a teammate during a game Monday against the Orlando Magic in Orlando, Fla. (John Raoux / Associated Press)

The LeBron James-Stephen A. Smith feud doesn’t look like it will be ending anytime soon, as the Lakers superstar trashed Smith on the network that employs the “First Take” host.

Appearing on Wednesday’s episode of ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” James talked about his confrontation with Smith during a timeout at a Lakers game earlier this month and how Smith has addressed the incident multiple times since then.

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“He’s like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now,” James said of Smith. “It started off with [Smith saying], ‘I didn’t want to address it. 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.’ Mother— are you kidding me? If there’s one person that couldn’t wait until the video had dropped so you could address it, it was your a—. Like, seriously?”

Smith has characterized the interaction as James “making sure I mind what I say about his son,” a reference to James’ oldest son and Lakers teammate Bronny James. Smith had previously said on air that Bronny should play solely in the G League this year rather than split his time between that league and the NBA.

“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,” Smith said on the Jan. 29 episode of “First Take.” “Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”

Read more: Lakers’ Bronny James scores career-high 39 points in G League game: ‘I belong out there’

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But James told McAfee that Smith had “completely missed the whole point.”

“Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players about what they do on the court,” James said. “That is your job to criticize or be in a position where if a guy’s not performing, that’s all part of the game.”

But, James added, “when you take it and you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players. … And I know he’s gonna be happy as hell. He’s gonna be…

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Publish date : 2025-03-26 22:41:00

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