Charles Barkley asserted what many, excluding LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith, already recognized: there are no winners in their drawn-out feud. On The Dan Patrick Show Friday morning, Barkley discussed the NCAA Tournament but inevitably shifted to the James vs. Smith saga for over 10 minutes after Patrick asked him to evaluate who had a better week.
“I’ve always liked LeBron, but him being a bully, it turned me off. But I will say this, Stephen A., the way he reacted, was so lame and weak.”
– Charles Barkley on the ongoing LeBron James/Stephen A. Smith saga. pic.twitter.com/sS9weLivcs
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) March 28, 2025
“They both had an awful week,” Barkley remarked without hesitation. “LeBron, he’s too big to be that type of bully. To bully Stephen A. and to bully Brian Windhorst. Brian Windhorst is a sweet person just trying to do his thing. I’ve always liked LeBron, but his bullying turned me off. And I will say this, Stephen A., the way he reacted was so lame and weak.” Barkley further stated, “LeBron pissed me off when he went after Brian Windhorst because Windhorst is a good person. I don’t know him really well, but I think he has a pure heart. He’s just trying to do his job and he’s out here catching strays.”
Windhorst seems to be the sole figure receiving nearly unanimous support after James dragged the ESPN reporter into this NBA vs. media crusade during his extensive interview on The Pat McAfee Show. Barkley criticized James for “starting the bullying,” emphasizing that the 40-year-old NBA superstar is a “control freak” who meticulously calculates his actions. According to Barkley, James was intentional when he confronted Smith during a Lakers game last month and escalated the feud with McAfee.
“There are only losers in this scenario, us as sports media,” Barkley stated. “You’ve got the biggest star in the game and probably the biggest star on television, and they both look bad… LeBron started it. And Stephen A, I’m not sure what he was trying to do; he just made it worse and worse. Then I saw the thing last night where he had to come out and apologize for saying LeBron didn’t go to Kobe’s memorial. I’m like dude, what the hell are you doing?!” While Barkley acknowledged James’s faults, he believes Smith should have put an end to the feud after their on-court clash. However, continuing the feud benefits Smith’s Trump-like ambition of potentially running for president. Instead, “Stephen A. went on other podcasts as a tough guy, which triggered LeBron again,” Barkley suggested.
In this scenario, there are only losers. Those who punch down are losers, those who punch up are losers, and yes, even those enduring weeks of covering a feud no one asked for are losers too. Hopefully, someone can persuade Smith to stop using his platform to perpetuate this feud with James, but it seems that might only encourage him to keep it alive even longer.
