Inside the Stephen A. Smith–LeBron James feud: More than a decade in the making

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, one of the most prominent and outspoken voices in sports media, has once again found himself at the center of controversy — this time involving LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

The tension between the two flared up earlier this year when LeBron confronted Smith over remarks the commentator made about his son, Bronny James. The heated exchange reportedly took place before the Los Angeles Lakers’ 113–109 win over the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena on March 7 (Philippine time). A video of the incident quickly went viral, drawing widespread attention and backlash from fans directed at Smith.

In a recent appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, Smith addressed the confrontation and revealed that his rift with LeBron goes back more than a decade.

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“The day that he rolled up on me courtside, it was the day my contract was announced that I had stayed with ESPN,” Smith recalled. “Go back and look at the camera angle — this is 2025, we got technology everywhere. TNT is a nationally televised game. How is it we got one angle, and the only angle you see is of him and his face, but you see the back of my peanut head? There’s no way that’s an accident.”

Stephen A. Smith addresses his feelings on LeBron on @7PMinBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/2baXyOzn2h

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 20, 2025

Smith clarified that his earlier comments were not directed at Bronny himself but at LeBron, claiming the four-time NBA champion influenced the Lakers’ decision to draft his son and keep him on the roster.

“Damn right I did,” Smith said when asked if he repeated the same remarks to LeBron during their exchange. “That’s how I feel. But no big deal — I went on air the next day and said, ‘That’s a dad reacting to his son.’”

However, Smith didn’t hold back in expressing his personal disdain for the Lakers superstar.

“I don’t like his a**, not a little bit. This dates back more than a decade. I’m not going to go into detail about the stuff this man has tried to do to me. You do not understand the lengths this man would go to. If it were up to him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s some low, low stuff,” he said.

With both figures known for their strong personalities, the Smith–LeBron feud shows no signs of cooling off — continuing to capture the attention of NBA fans and media alike.

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