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.”
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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.
Tweet from LeBron in February 2022: “If you want me, draft Bronny. Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
Tweet from LeBron in March 2023: “Man Bronny definitely better than some of these cats I’ve been watching on league pass today.”
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 playing with my dad, but of course he’s, he’s brought it up a couple times.”
Read more: LeBron James a month after saying Bronny could play for Lakers right now: ‘Let the kid be a kid’
Smith paraphrased his reaction to LeBron’s efforts to make sure Bronny was drafted so they could play together, saying, “‘C’mon man, this is the situation you are putting him in.’ That’s where I was coming from.”
Times columnist Bill Plaschke voiced similar concerns, writing the day the Lakers made Bronny their second-round pick: “Does Bronny really need this kind of pressure? Is it really fair to ask him to develop his game while sitting on the same bench as arguably the greatest player in history who also happens to be his father?”
The moment LeBron had long anticipated occurred in the Lakers’ opener Oct. 22, when Bronny checked into the game in the second quarter. They played less than three minutes together, with Bronny missing his first two NBA shots, but they became the first father-son duo to play an NBA game together.
In 76 minutes over 18 appearances, Bronny has scored 25 points, making 25.8% of his shots. He’s fared better in seven G League games, averaging 13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists while playing solid defense.
“I have nothing but the best wishes for Bronny James,” Smith said. “I hope he flourishes into an NBA star.”
Read more: ‘Bronny doesn’t have to play’: LeBron James glad he does because father-son duo ‘pretty special’
Smith, who was sitting at the game with Endeavor Chief Executive Ari Emanuel and actor Larry David, said he recognized that James was “very, very upset,” and declined to respond in such a public setting.
“He and I don’t necessarily vibe. … We don’t see eye to eye,” Smith said of James. “Neither of us loses sleep over it. It’s been that way for years. It was like he was saying, ‘Keep that between me and you.’
“As a father, I get it. … If I was in his position, I cannot say definitively that I wouldn’t have done the same thing. I don’t blame him one bit.”
Smith concluded his comments by saying that while he empathized with LeBron’s defense of his child, he stood by his on-air criticism.
“What I was saying about LeBron is fact-based because of what he said and the things that he said leading up to his son being drafted and ultimately being in the NBA on the same team as him,” Smith said. “There is no way around that. And when you’re raised as a journalist professionally, you don’t want enemies, but you ain’t paid to make friends. You’ve gotta call it like you see it.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
