Lakers’ LeBron James addresses confrontation with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith
INDIANAPOLIS — Lakers star LeBron James addressed the recent courtside confrontation with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith for the first time during an extended interview on the “The Pat McAfee Show” that aired on Wednesday.
During a timeout in the second half of the Lakers’ victory over the New York Knicks on March 6, James confronted Smith, who sat courtside during the game by the Lakers’ bench.
Smith, who initially said he didn’t want to address the altercation before it went viral on social media, said during a March 7 edition of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” that James told him, “Stop [expletive] with my son.”
“He’s on like a Taylor Swift tour run right now,” James said on “The Pat McAfee Show,” referring to the multiple interviews the ESPN commentator has done since the confrontation.
“It started with, ‘I didn’t want to address it,’” James added. “‘I wasn’t going to address it. But since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.’ Are you kidding me? If there was one person that couldn’t wait until the video had dropped so you could address it, it was your [expletive].”
The altercation seemingly stemmed from Smith’s criticism of Lakers rookie guard Bronny James, LeBron’s son, after the younger James went scoreless in 15 minutes in the Lakers’ road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 28.
“I’m pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,” Smith said on the Jan. 29 edition of ESPN’s “First Take”. “Stop this. We all know Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”
James said Smith “completely missed the whole point” of why he approached him.
“Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players about what they do on the court,” James said. “That is your job to criticize or to be in a position where if a guy is not performing, that is all part of the game. That’s all part of the game.
“But when you take it and get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my household, but protect the players.”
James also addressed his relationship with basketball legend Michael Jordan, saying they’re “in a good spot” but don’t talk, something he hopes will change once his playing career is over.
“Because I’m still playing,” James responded to a follow-up. “I’m still focused on my craft right now. The funny thing is, me and [late Lakers icon] Kobe [Bryant] never had a real relationship either until … we was on the Olympics team, we had a great relationship there, Olympic team [2008], Olympic team [’12], but it was always competitive between us. Until I became a Laker [in 2018] and he retired [in 2016]. That’s when our relationship became really good.
“I think it’s cause I’m still playing. And MJ, we all know MJ, even if you don’t know him personally, he’s one of the most ruthless competitors there is. Until I’m done and he doesn’t have to look at me run up and down wearing the No. 23, and every time my name is mentioned, it’s mentioned with his, he’s like ‘I don’t want to [expletive] talking to you.’”
GENDER REVEAL
The basketball shoes that starting guard Austin Reaves wore during Wednesday’s dramatic road win over the Indiana Pacers carried a personal message.
Reaves’ pink shoes also served as a gender reveal for his older brother, Spencer, and his wife.
Spencer Reaves, who is a professional basketball player in Germany, posted on X (formerly Twitter) during Wednesday’s game: “We didn’t know Austin would be so pumped to do this. He’s known for weeks. Maybe he got Luka [Doncic] on board as well with his shoes [on Wednesday].”