After the pair made headlines in early 2025 for his or her heated change on the sideline of an NBA recreation, Smith opened up in regards to the scenario on his podcast and an episode of ESPN’s “First Take.” Since then, LeBron James has shared his facet, which Smith replied to, calling the NBA legend out for being in his emotions. Nevertheless, he did not cease there. Smith additionally mentioned he would’ve gotten bodily with James if the latter had put his palms on him.
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LeBron James Lastly Responded To Smith’s Feedback About His Son
“Stephen A Smith is on a Taylor Swift tour run proper now 😂😂
He utterly missed the entire level..
He acquired private with it and it’s my job to not solely defend my very own family but additionally all of the gamers” @KingJames #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/LKKFmvtFWM
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 26, 2025
After inflicting fairly a stir within the basketball world, James lastly addressed his confrontation with Smith on an episode of “The Pat McAfee Present.”
Whereas discussing the scenario, James blasted the sports activities commentator for being on a “Taylor Swift tour run proper now,” referring to Smith’s many conversations about their blowup.
“It began off with, ‘I did not wish to deal with it. I wasn’t going to deal with it, however because the video got here out, I really feel the necessity to deal with it,'” James mentioned.
He continued: “Are you kidding me? If there was one particular person [who] could not watch for the video to drop, it was your -ss. Like critically?”
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Smith Says He Would’ve Swung On LeBron James
Smith did not waste time replying to the NBA champion’s feedback about him. Throughout a passionate rant on the most recent episode of his podcast, “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” the analyst declared he would’ve “swung” on James had the star gotten bodily with him throughout their dialog.
“When he approached me sitting courtside at that recreation towards the New York Knicks when he rolled up on me… I didn’t know he was gonna roll up on me,” Smith mentioned into the digital camera. He then defined that he could not reply the way in which he needed to as a result of he was in public.
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“It was through the third quarter, it was contemporary out of a timeout, it was him strolling to the basketball courtroom. It was on nationwide tv, the cameras have been rolling, and had I executed one thing, what do y’all need me to do? You need this to be a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?” he requested.
Smith continued, “And let me state for the document whereas we convey up that, let me guarantee you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I’d have gotten my -ss kicked as a result of if that man put his palms on me, I’d’ve instantly swung on him. Instantly. That I’m not going to tolerate.”
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James Trolls Smith On Instagram And Followers Reply
On Instagram, James clapped again at Smith’s feedback about swinging on him with a shady video of the latter doing pad work with boxing gloves on. The video is brief; nevertheless, it exhibits Smith clearly throwing a number of uppercuts, which James does not appear threatened by.
James captioned the video with a number of laughing face emojis earlier than saying, “WHOMP WHOMP WHOMPPPPPPP.”
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What Did Smith Say To Upset LeBron James?
Smith and James have been concerned in an explosive feud because the starting of March 2025.
In a video that went viral on-line, viewers may see James and Smith having an emotional dialog throughout a Lakers recreation over issues the latter mentioned about James’ son, Bronny James.
“I’m pleading with LeBron James as a father: cease this. Cease this,” Smith mentioned throughout an episode of “First Take,” referring to Bronny’s underwhelming efficiency within the NBA. He continued, “Everyone knows that Bronny James is within the NBA due to his dad.”
Smith blasted the father-and-son duo earlier than seemingly questioning LeBron’s motives as a mum or dad.
“How are you doing him favors? We all know that he’s not prepared but. And I’m saying this with compassion,” he mentioned. “You understand what it’s going to do to your son, to folks which might be lacking out on alternatives, which might be busting their tail on different NBA groups and the G League and Europe and all over the place else, what sort of alternative they’re ravenous for? You’re exposing your son like this.”
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James’ Coach Is Impressed With How His Son Handles The Backlash
The James’ head coach, JJ Redick, commented on the negativity surrounding his two gamers throughout an interview with ESPN.
Regardless of the youthful James receiving what some would name unfair criticism, Redick, who spent a number of years within the league with groups just like the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, praised the 20-year-old for dealing with the drama with grace.
“I’ve simply been impressed with the person who he’s,” Redick mentioned. “And to take care of … frankly, bullsh-t due to who his dad is and simply maintain a stage head about it and be a category act says quite a bit about him, says quite a bit about that household.”