Bronny James was apparently the reason why LeBron James confronted Stephen A. Smith when the LA Lakers hosted the New York Knicks last Thursday at the Crypto.com Arena. During his appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena” podcast on Tuesday, the veteran broadcaster revealed more details about the confrontation.
The incident took place after the third quarter following a timeout. LeBron saw Smith courtside and confronted him for his words about his son.
“‘You gotta stop talking s*** about my son. You gotta stop f***ing with my son. That’s my son, that’s my son,’” Smith recalled James’ words.
Smith revealed that Bronny James apparently made a “sad” face when the rookie saw him courtside in the first quarter, which his dad may have picked up on before approaching the analyst later in the game.
“I remember, during a timeout in the first quarter, seeing Bronny, and Bronny looked over at me and he had a sad look on his face,” Smith said. “And I am imagining, pops [LeBron] saw that s***. It hit him and he couldn’t hold it and he rolled up on me.”
“I thought it was weak. I thought it was bullsh*t.”@stephenasmith gives @GilsArenaShow the full story of what happened during his confrontation with LeBron 😳 pic.twitter.com/K6rtZsbYvf
— Underdog (@UnderdogFantasy) March 11, 2025
While Smith respected James for approaching him as a father that night, he was not impressed with how and when he decided to confront him. The analyst believes the superstar forward should have confronted him in private to settle their differences.
Bronny James’ dad called “weak” by Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith has criticized Bronny James for coming to the NBA too early, as well as his father LeBron James out for pushing him at this stage. After Smith addressed his confrontation with the elder James on Friday, he found out two days later that the Lakers superstar called him out after he picked on his parenting skills.
James called Smith out in a viral clip of him talking with his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate and ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson.
“Once he (Smith) talks about, ‘I’m pleading you as a father,’ I can’t,” James told Jefferson.
LeBron overheard talking about confronting Stephen A. Smith:
“I don’t give a f***… Once he talks about: ‘I’m pleading you as a father,’ I can’t.”
(via @legendz_nba)pic.twitter.com/6ID8jwE8By
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 10, 2025
Smith blasted James on two different platforms: first on his own show, and then on Tuesday on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast. He also said he was annoyed when he saw the clip of James talking with Jefferson.
“I thought it was weak, I thought it was some bulls***. But, in the moment, I knew that I was listening to a father,” Smith said.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
