LeBron James appears to have revealed what Stephen A. Smith said regarding his son, Bronny, that got him so upset that he confronted ESPN’s “First Take” host Thursday at the Lakers’ home game against the New York Knicks.
Interestingly enough, James made the apparent revelation to one of Smith’s ESPN colleagues — Richard Jefferson, who won an NBA title with James as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers and now works as an NBA analyst for the network.
Before the Lakers’ game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Saturday night, James shared a light-hearted moment with Jefferson, who was on hand to call the game on ABC with Mike Breen and Doris Burke. The ex-teammates’ brief exchange wasn’t aired, but footage surfaced in which bits of their conversation can be heard.
One remark by James seems to make it clear they were discussing the NBA’s all-time leading scorer’s beef with Smith, with James apparently explaining what it was that got under his skin.
“Once he talks about, ‘I’m pleading with you as a father,’ I can’t,” James sounds like he’s telling Jefferson.
James seems to be referencing a January rant by Smith after Bronny played a season-high 15 minutes 26 seconds for the Lakers, but the rookie didn’t score, missing all five of his field-goal attempts in a 118-104 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 28.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,” Smith said on “First Take” the following day. “Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”
Smith added: “How are you doing him favors? We know that he’s not ready yet. And I’m saying this with compassion. … You know what these numbers mean. You know what it’s going to do to your son, to people that are missing out on opportunities, that are busting their tail on other NBA teams and the G League and Europe and everywhere else, what kind of opportunity they’re starving for. You’re exposing your son like this?”
The Lakers selected their superstar player’s oldest son at No. 55 in the 2024 draft. LeBron James Sr. and Jr. made NBA history on opening night, becoming the first father-son duo to share an NBA court together. Since then, Bronny James has largely split his time between the Lakers (averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 4.2 minutes in 18 games) and their G League affiliate (averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 30.5 minutes in 15 games).
“We love what we’re seeing from him in the G League,” Smith said during his Jan. 29 commentary, “because that’s where you belong as you hone your skills and you get better and you legitimately earn [your spot], which I believe he has the potential to do.
“I am rooting for Bronny James. It would be cruel to root against him. He’s a wonderful kid. I wish him nothing but the best. But he’s LeBron James’ son and everybody knows what attention that brings.”
On Thursday night, Smith was sitting courtside at Crypto.com Arena with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and actor Larry David. Between the third and fourth quarters of the Lakers-Knicks game, James approached Smith and appeared angry and somewhat animated as he addressed the ESPN personality face to face.
Smith addressed the confrontation Friday morning on “First Take.”
“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent,” Smith said. “That was a father. I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard. By all accounts, he’s obviously a wonderful family man and a wonderful father who cares very, very deeply about his son. … He clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say and he confronted me about it.”
Smith added that he did not respond to James at that moment because it wasn’t the right setting.
“But if we had had that conversation, I would have said to LeBron James, ‘I never would speak negatively about your son. I was talking about you,’ meaning you, LeBron James,” Smith said.
“My point months ago was that because of who you are, one of the top two players in the history of basketball in my estimation, there’s an immense amount of pressure that comes with that for his son. … And that’s when I was talking about, ‘Come on, man. This is the situation that you’re putting him in.’ That’s where I was coming from.”
James, who is out after injuring his groin against the Celtics, hasn’t publicly addressed the matter.
