The Los Angeles Lakers’ hard-fought win over the New York Knicks last night has been overshadowed by a courtside interaction that occurred following the contest. After LA took down the Knicks in OT, LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith had an animated exchange of words. The internet has gone into hyperdrive since then, trying to figure out what the exact words were.
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LeBron has been at the receiving end of a week-long media crusade. It began when he called out the NBA media for their poor coverage of the game. It seems the Lakers legend has finally had enough.
Following his 31-point, 12-rebound outing in the 113-109 win, James stopped the First Take host to speak. The speculation is that the Lakers legend confronted Stephen A. about his son Bronny.
LeBron, the theory goes, apparently told Smith to ‘keep my son out of this sh*t’.
‘This sh*t’ could most likely refer to the barrage of criticism James has been facing. His words, though unconfirmed as of yet, make one thing clear: he doesn’t mind bearing the brunt of the media’s ire, but they need not drag his son into their arguments against him.
Smith has taken shots at Bronny before, the most relentless one this year being after the Lakers‘ loss to the underachieving Philadelphia 76ers in January. That game saw an underwhelming outing from Bronny.
At the time, SAS criticized James’ parenting. He added that the only reason Bronny was on the Lakers was that the superstar pulled strings to make it happen.
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1897916208986702168
Many believed that Smith had gone a little too far with his words against Bronny. A lot of fans called the analyst out for crossing the fine line between criticism and outright attack.
James has been one of the most criticised players in the league since his debut in 2003. And he has done an admirable job of not responding to his most vocal detractors — Skip Bayless — for nearly two decades. If what James spoke to Smith last night was about Bronny, it speaks volumes of the effect the analyst’s comments have had on him as a father.
The ironic thing about Stephen A. and LeBron’s interaction, if at all it went in the lines of what’s being speculated, is that just a few days ago, Smith had nothing but praise for the Lakers forward. He went so far as to claim the ‘GOAT debate’ no longer existed.
Stephen A.’s praise for LeBron
After James crossed 50,000 total career points in the win over the Pelicans on Tuesday night, Smith presented a point on First Take that many didn’t believe they’d ever hear.
“Knowing what I feel about Jordan, I actually think it’s time to not even have the debate anymore,” said SAS. “Because that’s how great Lebron James has been for as long as he has been that great.”
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1897313755735974206
Smith’s compliment to James came at an awkward time. He and the rest of the NBA media had been ripping into the star for his statements on the current state of the media coverage of the league.
As for their interaction last night, there still hasn’t been a response from Smith. What was said between them will most likely remain a mystery till one of them clears the record.
And fans will continue to speculate as to the nature of their conversation, making up wilder theories till the truth comes out.
