Veteran ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith says the moment he was confronted by LeBron James at a game earlier this year ranks among the most disrespectful he’s ever experienced.
Speaking at length on the “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast on Monday, Smith described feeling blindsided and demeaned by an encounter he believes was orchestrated.
Smith‘s simmering frustration, he said, springs from an incident during a late-season matchup in March.
He says the confrontation, widely circulated online, began when James approached him courtside after Smith had publicly criticized James‘s son, Bronny James, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
“When I tell y’all you can’t measure the level of how pissed off I have been over that,” Smith said. “There is no level of disrespect that has ever been accorded to me in my life more than what he did.”
Smith said the confrontation occurred on the same day he announced his contract renewal with ESPN, and he believes the timing and the camera angle of the viral clip were no coincidence. He alleged that only one angle of the incident was shown, the one that featured James’s face and left his own side obscured.
“I arrived in the first quarter. He rolled up on me in the third quarter. This is 2025, we got technology everywhere,” Smith told podcast host Carmelo Anthony.
“How is it we got one angle and the only angle … you see the back of my peanut head?”
Root causes of the clash
Smith said the flare-up was not just about comments on Bronny. He accused James of privately undermining his career and playing a “two-faced” role in public versus in private.
“I believe he’s one way publicly and another way privately,” Smith explained. “The things he’s tried to do. If it were up to him, I wouldn’t be where I am at today. It’s some low, low s-.”
Smith emphasized that while he understood the protective instincts of a father, he was deeply offended by what he perceived as a public attempt to cast him as someone who attacks family members.
“To try and paint me as someone who would attack somebody’s family, knowing I’ve never done it, I can’t tell you how offensive I find that,” he said.
Smith‘s original commentary about Bronny triggered the confrontation in March. On the morning after the game, Smith appeared on his show to clarify what had begun with Bronny but evolved into a broader issue.
“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent. That was a father,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, LeBron addressed the incident publicly via The Pat McAfee Show in March, rejecting personal attacks while defending his family and players.
“Never would I ever not allow people who talk about the sport to criticize players about what they do on the court… But when you take it and get personal with it, it’s my job not only to protect my damn household but protect the players.”
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