LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith’s beef has overtaken the internet. For those unfamiliar with the situation, Stephen A. had recently said he would have punched LeBron if he had put his hands on him during a courtside exchange. The future Hall of Famer responded by posting a funny video of Stephen A. boxing. This got the attention of Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, who burst into laughter upon viewing the post.
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The origins of this feud trace back to a heated exchange between the duo in the third quarter of the Knicks vs. Lakers earlier this month. LeBron had approached Stephen A., who was sitting courtside, to air him out for criticizing his son Bronny James. LeBron reportedly said, “Yo, you gotta stop talking sh*t about my son. You gotta stop f***ing with my son. That’s my son, that’s my son!”
In the days after, Stephen A. said the exchange didn’t amuse him. In fact, he labeled it as “bulls**t and weak.” LeBron then responded by saying he was simply protecting his family.
This brings us to the recent comments made by Smith. After LeBron was brought on The Pat McAfee Show to address the situation, Stephen A. claimed that the star Laker was a liar and that the polarizing analyst had no idea he was offended in the first place. Smith then claimed that if LeBron had laid hands on him, he would’ve punched him, but admits that he would have also taken a beating.
This prompted LeBron to troll Smith’s boxing form by sharing a video of him with a sparring partner. The post became viral in no time and has received over 1.5 million likes. LeBron even captioned the video, “WHOMP WHOMP WHOMPPPPPPP”.
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The video not only appealed to the fans but also caught the attention of Shannon Sharpe during an episode of Nightcap with Chad Johnson. Sharpe was scrolling through his Instagram and was at ground zero when the video was posted.
“Oh lord have mercy, Ocho,” Shannon said, cutting off his co-host. “Look what LeBron posted. That’s Stephen A. boxing.”
“He posted that for real?” Johnson asked.
“Yeah! Like 8 minutes ago…” Shannon replied. “Oh, lord have mercy. Man, c’mon, Bron. C’mon, man, stall it, my Bron… First of all, man, Stephen A. has bad rotator cuffs; that’s why he’s swinging like that. He ain’t fluid in his shoulders. Man, c’mon, Bron.”
The two couldn’t contain their laughter. Sharpe and Johnson both thought the response was hilarious. And it was. Yet, Shannon couldn’t help but defend his colleague and his bad rotator cuffs.
So, did anyone have a LeBron-Stephen A. beef on their prediction list at the beginning of the new year? What a wild sequence of events that has transpired since the exchange on March 6th. Some have supported LeBron for defending his son, while others have argued that he should just ignore it. But surprisingly, LeBron has fully bought into the cause.
What’s perhaps even more surprising is how long this has been continually developing. The beef has seemingly owned the month of March, which is a dead period in the professional sporting landscape, so it makes sense in a way.
But honestly, LeBron is too good for this. The man is perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. And the Lakers drafted his son in last year’s NBA Draft as well. LeBron is living the dream right now. Honestly, who cares what analysts and pundits have to say about the situation? Just live your dream life, bro.
