Two weeks ago, Stephen A. Smith became the center of media attention, when he was confronted by LeBron James. James walked up to the veteran ESPN Analyst, who was sitting courtside at the Crypto.com Arena as the Lakers hosted the Knicks. The confrontation was about Smith’s words about LeBron’s son, Bronny James.
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Since then, Smith has gone on several podcasts and talk shows, where he talked about the incident. Smith even went as far as to say he may never speak to LeBron James again, but that statement didn’t last more than a couple of days. On today’s First Take, Smith brought up Bronny and even addressed LBJ.
Last night, Bronny had the best performance of his young NBA career so far. He put up 17 points on a very efficient 7-of-10 shooting. James added three rebounds and five assists, while also blocking a shot. His performance impressed many, including Stephen A. Smith.
“I was very impressed. I was very impressed because I saw an elevation in his level of confidence and poise. It was like, it didn’t really faze him,” Smith started. He raved about the 20-year-old’s shooting from the floor, and then, brought up LeBron James to address that he was wrong.
“I might have been wrong. Are you listening, LeBron James? Are you listening, James family? Are you listening, Rich Paul? Are you listening, all you people?”
He then went on to justify his comments from the past. “My position was all along, Bronny James needed to be in the G League, let him be in the G League his first year,” Smith said. However, the one sentence that caught everyone’s eye was Smith saying, “I’ve always believed that this kid has the potential, once I watched him, to be in the NBA.”
His last statement was picked up by multiple X accounts, who shared the First Take clip with the same caption. Smith saying that he always believed Bronny had potential did not sit right with fans. They called out the veteran analyst. One fan wrote, “LMFAO SAS IS THE BIGGEST HYPOCRITE.”
At the same time, another joked about how LeBron scared Smith, which led to the change in opinion.
My goat struck fear into his heart and dih
— Cameron Brink Glory (@TheBrinkOfGlory) March 21, 2025
Smith’s sudden change in opinion even left CBS’s Ashley Nicole Moss surprised, who questioned if the clip was real.
wait … is this real? lmao https://t.co/H4BlwoHeUD
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) March 21, 2025
Smith’s comments will definitely garner attention and become a talking point, but hopefully, they don’t overshadow the performance Bronny put up. The 20-year-old Laker had his first hint of real minutes last night, and he showed out. Hopefully, this gives JJ Redick and the other coaches the motivation to play him more, as they see fit.
