On Friday March 6, 2020, after a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, a video of Lakers superstar LeBron James and ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith went viral online.
In the clip, James berates Smith verbally. It was revealed later that James was heated because of comments that Smith had made about James’s son Bronny James, who is also on the Lakers. Smith suggested that Bronny is only in the NBA because LeBron pulled strings to get him there.
The two exchanged heated rants on different platforms about how the other had gone wrong in that situation. Then, the beef died down a little bit in the public eye.
But just this morning Wednesday June 18, 2025, Rolling Stone released an interview with Smith. One of the things that interviewer Danyel Smith asks Stephen A. Smith about is his beef with James.
Stephen A. Switches Up And Says LeBron Doesn’t Like Him Personally
Previously, Stephen A. had said that he believed LeBron was confronting him to be protective of his son, Bronny, “as a parent.”
A few months later, Stephen A. has completely changed his tune.
“He hid behind his son [Bronny], tried to make something out of nothing, as if I was dogging his son, which I was not,” Stephen A. Smith said. “The real issue was we don’t like each other. And he used that as an excuse to confront me. I got it.”
Stephen A. not only said that, but doubled down and said that he also feels animosity towards LeBron as a human being.
“I understand that we don’t like each other. We’re never gonna like each other,” Stephen A. Smith said.
“I don’t like him, he don’t like me.”
Stephen A. Assures NBA Fans He Will Still Cover LeBron “Objectively”
Despite his deep personal dislike for LeBron James, Stephen A. Smith assured NBA fans that he will continue to cover LeBron objectively.
“He’s one of the greatest players who’s ever lived,” Stephen A. Smith said. “I’m going to show him that respect, and I’m going to cover him objectively. When he does great, I’m gonna applaud. When he doesn’t do great, I’m not gonna applaud.”
Just this morning, Wednesday June 18, 2025, Stephen A. Smith had some harsh words for LeBron James.
After LeBron criticized “ring culture” in the NBA on his podcast “Mind the Game” with Steve Nash, Stephen A. called LeBron out for feeding into that hyperfixation by leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to chase an NBA championship with the Miami Heat.
“If [winning a championship] didn’t mean much or shouldn’t mean much … Why were you so relieved to finally have one? Why did you depart Cleveland to go to Miami?” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take this morning.
Ultimately, Stephen A. Smith is not a beat journalist who just reports the facts. He has gained notoriety on ESPN for sharing his opinions, which are always going to be heavily informed by his feelings and what he likes and dislikes.
So what do you think, Lakers fans? Can Stephen A. be trusted to cover LeBron James objectively?
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