Stephen Anthony Smith has opened up on his viral courtside confrontation with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Thursday evening.
A viral video showed the ESPN anchor and King James in a heated exchange at courtside for the game against the New York Knicks, and Smith has revealed what actually transpired between them.
Recently, LeBron James set the record as the NBA’s all-time leading point scorer, but there’s a new twist to why he’s in the news after Thursday’s confrontation with Smith.
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James appeared furious as he came over to the sideline to speak to Smith after the Lakers’ 113-109 win at Crypto.com Arena.
Stephen Smith revealed what transpired at courtside during Friday’s episode of ESPN’s ‘First Take’, stating that LeBron James confronted him about remarks he had made about his son, Bronny.
LEBRON WANTS SMOKE WITH STEPHEN A ???? pic.twitter.com/xsXOLR7ZWi
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 7, 2025
‘That was Lebron James coming up to me, unexpectedly, I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,’ Smith began after the clip of their interaction played. ‘I can’t repeat the words because they aren’t suited for airwaves.’
Smith further alleged that he intended to avoid discussing the altercation in public, yet after the video went viral, he admitted he needed to spill the beans.
‘I thought long and hard about this over the past few hours because I had no intention of talking about this at all,’ he continued.
‘The reason is because it was a one-on-one, I wouldn’t say it was a conversation, but it was a one-on-one confrontation. But then I wake up and everybody from ESPN and my agent and everybody else were telling me that this thing had gone viral so ultimately it was unavoidable. That is why I have to discuss it now.’
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‘That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent. That was a father. And 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.’
Despite stating that he understood LeBron James’ point of view as a parent looking out for their kid, Stephen A. Smith said the NBA star could have handled the situation better and had the conversation with him in private.
‘Lebron James knows how to get in contact with me if he wanted to,’ Smith went on. ‘He never called. Because had he called and wanted to talk to me, I would have accepted that call. Had he wanted to see me, I would have flown out and seen him and had a conversation man-to-man. But that is not what he elected to do.’
‘Instead he elected to confront me while I was sitting courtside. He walked right up to me and he said what he had to say.’
Initially, many NBA fans thought the confrontation stemmed from the ongoing war of words between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith, which was a huge conversation in the public domain over the past days.
Last week, King James criticized the NBA media, stating, “All the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s* on everybody.”
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Smith, who recently reportedly signed a $100 million deal with ESPN hit back at James’ words, calling them “b.s.” and accusing NBA stars of being overly sensitive.
Later on during the show, Smith clarified that James was acting as a protective parent.
In the past weeks, Anthony Smith had questioned whether Bronny James, who was drafted by the Lakers last year, really deserved a place in the NBA.
On Friday, he softened his views on Bronny James, revealing that he had no issue with the young NBA star’s future. “I never spoke negatively about your son. I was talking about you,” Smith said.
