After accusing LeBron James of lying, Stephen A. Smith contradicted himself by claiming the NBA superstar didn’t attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial service. During his uninterrupted 15-minute rant to open First Take Thursday morning, responding to James’ comments on The Pat McAfee Show, Smith bizarrely accused the four-time NBA MVP of being absent from Bryant’s memorial service following his death in 2020.
Stephen A. Smith on LeBron James: “I suggest that he be happy with the things that I haven’t brought up. I never brought up really and never really discussed why you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service. I never really brought up or discussed why you did not attend Dwyane… pic.twitter.com/Wji02Zidej
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 27, 2025
“I suggest that he be happy with the things that I haven’t brought up,” Smith said about James, adding, “I never brought up really and never really discussed why you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service.” However, James was indeed at the memorial, which Smith later clarified on First Take. Although he claimed there was a specific reason for his absence, accusing James of not attending was a significant error. Even assuming James wasn’t there, it was an odd attempt at a “gotcha” moment by Smith, which he later apologized for in a social media post nearly five hours after making the false claim.
My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of @FirstTake today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial. I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 27, 2025
“My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of First Take today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial,” Smith wrote. “I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It was not my main point. I retract NOTHING else that I said. Have a nice day!” It’s worth noting that Smith didn’t just “intimate” LeBron’s absence; he explicitly stated, “you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service.”
What began as a strange incident with James confronting Smith during aLos Angeles Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena last month has escalated, becoming increasingly embarrassing for both parties. After Smith spent nearly a month obsessively discussing the incident, James responded sharply during his rebuttal on The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday afternoon. The following morning, Smith retaliated, culminating in his false accusation involving Kobe Bryant.
