ESPN star Stephen A. Smith spoke extensively about his viral courtide interaction with LeBron James Last week, and initially seemed empathetic about his complaint; The popular sports analyst, however, expanded this week on his mind and called the approach to the Lakers about the issue ‘weak’.
The heated confrontation took place during the third quarter of the The overtime of Lakers About the New York Knicks on Thursday. It apparently focused on James’s song with Smith’s commentary on Bronny James.
Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN NBA Countdown Live Set in Intuit Dome on October 23, 2024. (Kirby Lee-Imagn images)
The next day, during an appearance on “First Take”, Smith called the interaction “unexpected”, but said he did not cherish bad will against James because he understood the position he was in.
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“That was not a basketball player who confronted me, that was a parent, that was a father. I can’t sit here and be angry or felt in that respect by LeBron James.
Another viral video from James that discussed the confrontation with former teammate and current ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson on Saturday re -ruled the issue.
“I thought it was weak, I thought it was some bulls —. But at the moment I knew I was listening to a father,” Smith said on Tuesday during an appearance on the “Gil’s Arena” Podcast.
LeBron James, #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers, looks during the match against the San Antonio Spurs on January 13, 2025 in Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty images)
Smith repeated that he was overwhelmed by the confrontation and he expanded with the conversation he had with James.
“He said,” Yo, you have to stop talking about my son. You have to stop my son-that is my son. That’s my son. ‘
Smith said the first confrontation was about what James “thought” Smith said about his son, that’s why he was surprised. However, the conversation with Jefferson was aimed at Smith’s real criticism, who focused on James’ push for his son to set up and play in the competition as Rookie before he was ready.
“I thought he had presented the argument wrong, I was glad he did,” Smith continued. “Because what he was really talking about, which was confirmed with his conversation with Richard Jefferson-Is that I was talking about him as a father. He told me that I would not have been thrown away. I would have returned to him immediately-I was, I was talking about you, you did this s —.”
LeBron James, #23, and Bonny James, #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers, on the field for the first time during the match against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Crypto.com Arena on October 22, 2024 in Los Angeles. (All Berezovsky/Getty images)
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Bonny James was set up from USC in the second round of the NBA design of 2024. He appeared in 18 games this season and has an average of 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per match.
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