‘The only thing’ – Leaked audio reveals LeBron discussing specific Stephen A. Smith comment that triggered confrontation with First Take star
LeBron James made headlines last week as he clashed with Stephen A. Smith in a heated courtside exchange. The NBA legend inspired the Los Angeles Lakers to an overtime victory against the New York Knicks last Thursday, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. James led the Lakers to a win against the Knicks, but his performance was overshadowed by an off-court clash with SmithGetty But a confrontation between James and ESPN host Smith, who was in attendance at Crypto.com Arena, overshadowed the game’s events. Video footage shared by a member of the crowd showed ‘King James‘ confronting Stephen A. near the court while he was wearing his trademark No. 23 Lakers jersey. At the end of the verbal exchange, which was said to be about LeBron’s son, Bronny James, he appeared unhappy as he walked off. Smith responded to the viral moment less than 24 hours, addressing the incident on ESPN. “That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,” he said. “I can’t repeat the words because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves.” Smith’s response left fans wondering exactly what was said between the pair, and while we may never know for sure, it seems that James has been more open about discussing it. The Lakers were back in action on Saturday against the Boston Celtics, and the four-time NBA champion appeared in a more jovial mood. Before tip-off at TD Garden, James caught up with former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Richard Jefferson, who now works as an analyst for ESPN. The audio of their conversation has been leaked, and while unverified, it appeared the pair discussed LeBron’s run-in with Smith. LeBron was seen in a verbal exchnage with Smith, before walking offx@LADEig LeBron appeared to discuss the incident with former teammate Jefferson over the weekendX: @legendz_nba View Tweet: https://t.co/RJhi7gxuSa “That’s the only thing I’m tripping,” James appears to have told Jefferson. “I don’t give a f***… Once he talks about, ‘I’m pleading (to) you as a father,’ I can’t.” The unverified footage has been viewed nearly four million times on X after being shared by a number of prominent basketball accounts. It is possible LeBron’s comments were a reference Smith’s previous criticism of his son Bronny. Back in January, after the rookie featured in a tough 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Smith went off on the pair. “I am pleading with LeBron James as a father. Stop this,” Smith said on ESPN earlier this year. Smith made comments about both LeBron and Bronny in JanuaryX: @FirstTake Smith has confirmed that James took issue with some of his statementsGetty “We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season, opening night… father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time, an absolutely positively wonderful story. “And then reality sets in… Right now, Bronny James is averaging 0.3 points, 0.3 assists, and 0.4 rebounds. “You know what people are saying. You know what they’re going to do to this kid. In 13 games, he has played 44 minutes. He has scored four points. He is shooting one of 16 from the field, 0 for seven from three-point range. “How are you doing him favors? We know that he’s not ready yet.” After catching up with Jefferson, James went on to exit Saturday’s loss to the Celtics with a left groin injury and is now expected expected to miss at least one to two weeks of action.
LeBron James made headlines last week as he clashed with Stephen A. Smith in a heated courtside exchange.
The NBA legend inspired the Los Angeles Lakers to an overtime victory against the New York Knicks last Thursday, finishing with 31 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
But a confrontation between James and ESPN host Smith, who was in attendance at Crypto.com Arena, overshadowed the game’s events.
Video footage shared by a member of the crowd showed ‘King James‘ confronting Stephen A. near the court while he was wearing his trademark No. 23 Lakers jersey.
At the end of the verbal exchange, which was said to be about LeBron’s son, Bronny James, he appeared unhappy as he walked off.
Smith responded to the viral moment less than 24 hours, addressing the incident on ESPN.
“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,” he said.
“I can’t repeat the words because they ain’t suited for FCC airwaves.”
Smith’s response left fans wondering exactly what was said between the pair, and while we may never know for sure, it seems that James has been more open about discussing it.
The Lakers were back in action on Saturday against the Boston Celtics, and the four-time NBA champion appeared in a more jovial mood.
Before tip-off at TD Garden, James caught up with former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Richard Jefferson, who now works as an analyst for ESPN.
The audio of their conversation has been leaked, and while unverified, it appeared the pair discussed LeBron’s run-in with Smith.
“That’s the only thing I’m tripping,” James appears to have told Jefferson.
“I don’t give a f***… Once he talks about, ‘I’m pleading (to) you as a father,’ I can’t.”
The unverified footage has been viewed nearly four million times on X after being shared by a number of prominent basketball accounts.
It is possible LeBron’s comments were a reference Smith’s previous criticism of his son Bronny.
Back in January, after the rookie featured in a tough 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Smith went off on the pair.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father. Stop this,” Smith said on ESPN earlier this year.
“We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season, opening night… father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time, an absolutely positively wonderful story.
“And then reality sets in… Right now, Bronny James is averaging 0.3 points, 0.3 assists, and 0.4 rebounds.
“You know what people are saying. You know what they’re going to do to this kid. In 13 games, he has played 44 minutes. He has scored four points. He is shooting one of 16 from the field, 0 for seven from three-point range.
“How are you doing him favors? We know that he’s not ready yet.”
After catching up with Jefferson, James went on to exit Saturday’s loss to the Celtics with a left groin injury and is now expected expected to miss at least one to two weeks of action.
