LeBron James has been accused by ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith of treating media figures differently, saying he rarely criticizes “white” people who have thoughts about him.
Despite Smith’s past criticism of James, the NBA star confronted him after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks in overtime the previous season. Smith had talked about LeBron’s son, Bronny, on ESPN’s First Take before to their meeting.
In addition to criticizing Bronny James’ rookie season harshly, the pundit implied that he ought to be playing in the NBA G League. Smith now claims that there are double standards at work and that LeBron James avoids addressing “white” experts.
Smith talked about James with ESPN’s Ryan Clark during a recent guest appearance on The Pivot Podcast. Despite Smith’s previous attempts to minimize any idea of hostility between himself and the Lakers legend, their recent argument has been reignited.
Smith and James had a deeper personal feud because the ESPN analyst made several comments about Bronny James after the Lakers selected him in the draft. LeBron approached Smith because he wanted to protect his son from the national media attention.
Stephen A. calls out Bron out for being fake
“I don’t like his ass—not even a little bit. You do not understand the lengths this man would go to. This dates back more than a decade. I believe he’s one way publicly and another way privately.”
(🎥 7PM)
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 20, 2025
Smith played down the altercation on the court, saying in a First Take episode:
“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent, 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. Based on some of the comments that he had heard, or shall I say I think he thought he heard, clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say and he confronted me about it.”
