There is no doubt that LeBron James and Luka Doncic play on the hottest team in the Western Conference.
There’s also no doubt that Stephen A. Smith, the often-controversial host of First Take on ESPN, has agreed to a new five-year contract worth $100 million.
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LeBron James does not appear to be a big fan of Stephen A. SmithCredit: Getty
But what The King of the NBA said to Smith during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 113-109 comeback victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday created a huge internet debate.
“Bron looks so pissed,” one fan tweeted.
“You don’t ever see Lebron entertain these things,” a second fan posted. “Stephen A really must have crossed the line.”
“Lebron wasn’t playing!” a third fan wrote. “We need the audio.”
“I would be s******* my pants if i was Stephen A,” a fourth fan wrote.
Video footage appeared to show James confronting Smith near the court while the league’s all-time leading scorer was wearing his trademark No. 23 Lakers jersey.
For at least five seconds, James goes at Smith and doesn’t back down.
By the end of the verbal exchange, James raises his intensity and appears to make it clear that he’s not happy.
Smith responded to James’ intensity on ESPN on Friday, and confirmed what many fans were thinking.
“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,” Smith said on Friday.
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Video footage showed James appearing to get in Smith’s face
“I can’t repeat the words because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves.”
A furious James turned away stone-faced and coldly walked away from an ESPN host who’s had bitter rivalries with many of the league’s biggest stars, including Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
“I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” Durant previously told The Athletic. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around.
“I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s*** about players.
“He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”
James got the real-life win on Thursday, scoring recording a double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 11-of-23 from the field.
Doncic added a team-high 32 for the Lakers, who improved to 40-21 and won their eighth straight game.
Los Angeles has been completely changed by the trade-deadline acquisition of Doncic, while James is one of the best players in the NBA at 40-years-old.
Even Charles Barkley was forced to praise the revived Lakers, who are in second place in the West and becoming a serious NBA Finals contender.
“The Lakers are doing great,” Barkley said on TNT.
James and Smith might not be.
The ESPN host got in the middle of Bronny James bouncing between the G League and the Lakers.
Stephen A. Smith reveals his top 5 NBA players who need to step up in the playoffs
“I’m really, really trying to be as respectful as I possibly can be towards LeBron James, one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball,” Smith previously said on First Take.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father. Stop this.
“We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”
And Smith, who has increasingly been associated with the political world, went after James for sitting out the recent NBA All-Star Game.
“We all brought up the lackadaisical effort that they put forth for the All-Star Game on All-Star Weekend,” Smith said on The Dreamerspro Show.
“You think they don’t look at LeBron James?
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James focused his intensity on the court as the Lakers won their 8th straight gameCredit: Getty
“Larry Bird and Dr. J and them come in and talk to the (All-Star) team last year, and they think that they touched the pulse of the players and all of this stuff. And then they say, you know what? LeBron just gave a side eye to everybody else.
“The next thing you know, they went out there and allowed 400 points damn near to be scored. Put forth no effort whatsoever. It may not have been his fault, but they didn’t view it that way.”
Fans immediately wanted to know more about why James appeared to be so furious with Smith.
But the initial theory was that The King was defending his son.
“Keep my son out of this sh**,” one fan suggested, trying to decipher James’ words.
The tension between James and the main face of ESPN has been building for months.
“Channing Frye said it … why do you want to be the face of a league?” James said.
“When all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s*** on everybody?”
Smith fired back at a global superstar, who just became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 points.
“When he talks about people covering the league, we know he’s talking about me,” Smith said.
He signed a new $100m deal to stay at ESPN, according to The Athletic, meaning he’s not going away anytime soon.
