If Stephen A. Smith was looking to move past his now-infamous confrontation with Lakers star LeBron James, he didn’t do so on Wednesday’s edition of his self-titled podcast.
After James went on “The Pat McAfee Show” and called out the ESPN talking head, Smith spent his entire show ripping James, saying at one point that he would have “swung on” the NBA legend if things got physical during their confrontation at a March 6 Lakers-Knicks game in Los Angeles.
LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith had a confrontation that has since gone viral. LegendOfWinning/X
“When he approached me sitting courtside at that game against the New York Knicks, when he rolled up on me I didn’t know he was gonna roll up on me,” Smith said. “I had no idea, but when he said what he had to say I was in no position to give any kind of retort without making a scene. It was during the third quarter, it was fresh out of a timeout, it was him walking to the basketball court. It was on national television, the cameras were rolling and had I done something what do ya’ll want me to do? You want this to be a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?
“And let me state for the record while we bring up that, let me assure you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my ass kicked because if that man put his hands on me I would’ve immediately swung on him. Immediately. That I’m not going to tolerate.”
Smith went on to say that he knew nothing like that would have occurred and that there was no “fear” going through his mind.
The “First Take” panelist reiterated that the comments believed to have gotten under James’ skin were not about Bronny James — the hooper’s oldest son and fellow Lakers teammate — but about James himself.
LeBron James talked about the incident on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday. LegendOfWinning/X
Since Bronny was drafted last summer by the Lakers last summer, accusations of nepotism have followed the rookie around, with many questioning if he was NBA-ready and believing that he was only in the league due to his father.
Smith has discussed Bronny and his situation on the air, but it was comments on the Jan. 29 edition of “First Take” that seemed to escalate things between Smith and LeBron.
“I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this,” Smith said at the time. “We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season, opening night, the Griffey’s in attendance, father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time. An absolutely positively wonderful story. And then reality sets in.”
Stephen A. Smith talked about the incident on his eponymous podcast on Wednesday. Stephen A. Smith Show/YouTube
During the “McAfee” appearance on Thursday, James said Smith had “completely missed the whole point” and that he was doing his job to “protect” his household and fellow players.
Among Smith’s nearly hour-long diatribe, he also alluded to the idea that James knew there was someone filming the interaction and went through a frame-by-frame showing to prove that James looked at the camera when the hooper walked away from Smith at Cyrpto.com Arena.
“I didn’t even pick that up first go-around,” Smith said. “He finishes talking and looks up to the camera. Everybody and their mother knew I was going to be there because when you’re sitting courtside, the Lakers have an idea of who’s going to show up. He knew I was coming and picked the third quarter in the middle of the game to say what he has to say to make sure the camera is rolling. And then to look at the camera immediately after saying what he said to me with having no chance to respond.”
