Tim Hardaway Sr. criticized Stephen A. Smith for how he handled his recent confrontation with LeBron James. The Hall of Famer blamed the longtime sports analyst for embarrassing Bronny James by publicly discussing his interaction with the Lakers forward.
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Hardaway explained how Bronny would never have known he was the topic of discussion had Stephen A. not talked about the conversation on First Take. The five-time All-Star also pointed out that Smith might have exposed how LeBron really feels about the constant dialogue surrounding his son.
This was likely a conversation that LeBron intended to keep private, despite Stephen A.’s tendency to create content out of anything. But the 57-year-old may have gone too far this time. “If Stephen A. never said the conversation was about Bronny, we would’ve never known what that conversation was about,” Hardaway added.
Tim Hardaway has his own son in the league, Tim Hardaway Jr, who has also experienced his fair share of backlash from fans in the past, especially during his underwhelming stretch with Dallas last season. So the former point guard knows how it feels to have the media talking down on his own family.
In what should have been a 1-on-1 interaction without any outside noise, Stephen A. tried to spin his serious conversation with LeBron into entertainment. He recently revealed the exact details of the confrontation, adding more fuel to the fire.
Stephen A. Smith revealed why LeBron James was unhappy with him
While LeBron James has never been known to let his detractors rattle him, it’s clearly a different story when those same people are talking about his son. The King was clearly unhappy with Smith’s recent comments regarding Bronny and made it a point to get this across to him despite the public setting.
Claiming that the situation had to be addressed considering how viral the moment was, Stephen A. revealed that his interaction with LeBron had entirely to do with his son. For someone who’s been in the business as long as Smith has, he should have known his comments would eventually warrant this reaction.
Bronny has already faced immense scrutiny from several media members ever since he announced his declaration for last year’s NBA Draft. The USC product was selected just 55th overall, but considering where most players drafted at that spot end up, it’s hard to call his career a disappointment quite yet.
LeBron has let the majority of discussion about Bronny’s inadequacies go, but it’s clear that something Stephen A. said recently seemingly went beyond what James was comfortable with.
