Noted New York Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith was courtside at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night to watch his team take on the Los Angeles Lakers. Smith was probably focused on making sure he knew who was actually playing for the Knicks when Lakers superstar LeBron James approached him to let him know how he felt about the ESPN talent’s comments about his son Bronny James.
During a stoppage between the third and fourth quarters, James approached Smith at his seats and the two could be seen having a very terse conversation in which James appeared to be giving Smith the business.
Friday, Smith addressed the incident on First Take, saying that LeBron was upset about things Smith had said about Bronny, who also plays for the Lakers.
“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 ain’t suited for FCC airwaves. That’s what he was doing.”
Later Friday, Smith took to his podcast to provide more specifics on what James had to say.
“Let me just put to bed a couple of things that have been reported that are false,” said Smith on Friday’s episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show. “People was talking about LeBron called me out my name, or somebody said he called me a b*tch, somebody said he called me a punk, and all this. None of that is true.
“He was fiery. He approached me during the game, and he said, ‘Stop effing with my son. That’s my effing son. Stop effing with my son.’I said, ‘What?’ ‘No, straight up, man to man. Real talk. Stop effing with my son.’ And I saw how furious he was. And I said, We can talk about later. ‘No, F that. Stop effing with my son. That’s my son.’ I said, All right, dawg. Fine. And he walked away. That’s all he said.”
The ESPN host initially defended the Lakers drafting Bronny but criticized his playing time in January, saying the rookie wasn’t ready for the NBA.
Smith went on to say that he felt James was misconstruing his comments on Bronny and that he wished the conversation had been private between the two of them.
ESPN’s $100-million man has been racking up beefs with many folks around the NBA world in recent days, including James, Draymond Green, Kai Cenat, and Charles Barkley. Apparently, that’s what they’re paying him for.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.