Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James don’t seem to have an amicable relationship, and this tension goes beyond just Bronny James. It’s been nearly two weeks since James confronted Smith in-person during a Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena. While this interaction did not reflect well on James, Smith continues to discuss the incident, which isn’t a particularly flattering look either. Following Dwyane Wade’s comments about the confrontation on Carmelo Anthony’s podcast, it reopened the conversation for Smith to revisit his ongoing feud with James, “once and for all.”
“It’s been stewing for years,” Smith expressed regarding their seemingly fractured relationship. “What’s frustrated me about this subject is that too many people are avoiding the truth. Melo and D-Wade addressed it. Me and LeBron don’t have a relationship. He doesn’t mess with me, and I don’t mess with him. I respect the hell out of him; he’s number two on the all-time list. However, I didn’t always feel this way—I was critical of how he treated Black media.”
Smith, ESPN’s $100 million talent, refrained from elaborating on his grievances regarding James’ treatment of Black media over his career, underscoring instead that he has always stayed above any mistreatment. “I’m not talking about myself,” Smith clarified. “I operate on a certain level and I’ve seen how others were treated, and I didn’t like that.” He noted that he has consistently been kind to James’ family and has a good rapport with his business partners, yet his relationship with James remains different.
“Me and LeBron, we don’t roll like that,” Smith noted. “It’s just a hi and bye. He doesn’t have much use for me, and I certainly don’t have much use for him.” This past two weeks, however, Smith has leveraged the incident for all it’s worth. Even though it was absurd for James to confront him during an NBA game, he seems to have left the matter there, showing that it hasn’t become a recurring topic for the all-time scoring leader. But Smith appears to take satisfaction that James took time during a game to address him, and despite his insistence that this will be the last time he discusses their feud, we’re already anticipating the next chapter.
