The years-long feud between the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, and ESPN’s biggest personality, Stephen A. Smith, has been well documented and publicized, especially after things boiled over into a courtside confrontation at Crypto.com Arena last year.
Following some pointed criticisms from Smith on the Los Angeles Lakers’ drafting of James’ son, Bronny, James walked up to Smith during a Lakers game, leading to the pair trading barbs over the internet and culminating with James’ appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, where he ripped Smith and other media members.
Smith said at the time that he no longer had any relationship with the Lakers superstar and that he had zero interest in rekindling one.
“There’s no situation, and there’s no relationship,” Smith said. “He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him.”
Smith went as far as to claim that James has a double standard for black journalists.
“You ever see LeBron go at a white boy? Let’s call it what it is. You ever see him do that? You’ll say you saw him come at me,” Smith said.
“You saw him come at me. Closest you ever came to seeing him do something like that [to a white journalist] was when he called out Brian Windhorst,” Smith continued. “What you calling out Brian Windhorst for? The man covered you since junior high school and has praised you repeatedly and you used the Pat McAfee situation to go at him. [T]hat’s the only time you ever seen LeBron James really go at somebody white. I’m going to call it what it is.”
Earlier this year, Smith even stated that LeBron had tried to sabotage his career, saying “We don’t like each other. And the world needs to know that.”
Shockingly, Smith sang James’ praises on Thursday’s episode of First Take, acknowledging James’ role in the Lakers’ recent success, which has included deferring to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves as his physical prowess declines.
“This is one of the guys on the Mount Rushmore of basketball, one of the top 5, 4 players in the history of basketball,” Smith said. “Okay, who is a 4-time champion and a 4-time league MVP and was clearly the star of the Los Angeles Lakers all of these years that he has been there until Luka Dončić arrived last season.
“And all he does is go out there and not just play deferentially to Luka Dončić, he also does so to Austin Reaves. Austin Reaves goes down, he gets injured, he comes back, he allows Austin Reaves to work his way back into things. The unselfishness, the leadership, you just can’t question it, you know. You know, if it was something to question, I wouldn’t hesitate to question it.”
It’s quite the pivot for Stephen A. Smith, who questioned if winning championships was still James’ top priority after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs last season. The First Take star is well aware of how ironic the praise coming from him is, but even he won’t deny LeBron’s greatness.
“We know who we listening to right now. But the bottom line is, I can’t do that. That’s not fair, and that’s not accurate,” Smith said.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.