Stephen A. Smith makes stunning LeBron James prediction following pair’s heated confrontation
Stephen A. Smith has predicted he and LeBron James ‘may never speak in life again’ following the pair’s heated confrontation earlier this month.
After the Lakers defeated the Knicks on March 7, James could be seen angrily addressing Smith, who said afterwards that the player’s comments were related to what the ESPN star had previously said about his son, Bronny.
Smith has insisted that Bronny, a Lakers teammate of James’, currently belongs in the G League, and that his father was ‘exposing’ him.
‘I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this,’ Smith said on First Take. ‘Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.’
And on a new episode of his eponymous show, Smith defended his previous remarks and shared why he and James ‘don’t get along.’
‘You see, I don’t run and hide. If I’m wrong, I’ll say I’m wrong. If I’m right, I’ll say I’m right,’ he said. ‘I was never sh***ing on Bronny James. I wouldn’t do that to the James family. I was talking about one person, and one person only. We may never speak in life again – I’m fine with it. I get paid to talk about folks – not to them.
Cameras caught LeBron James having a heated exchange with Stephen A. Smith this month
Smith said on his show this week that the pair ‘may never speak in life again’
James took issue with Smith’s comments regarding his son and Lakers teammate, Bronny
‘I cover the league. You play, I watch, dissect, analyze and broadcast,’ he continued. We don’t gotta communicate. We damn sure don’t have to say hello to each other. We don’t have to do none of that.
‘We don’t get along. And there’s a multitude of reasons why, I’ve alluded to them. But we know what the biggest reason is. I ain’t Shannon Sharpe, it ain’t GOAT status this way. My GOAT is Michael Jordan… I watch the game. I’m a student of the game. I know a GOAT when I see one.’
Smith had previously said he didn’t feel ‘angry’ or ‘slighted’ by James’ comments towards him.
‘That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me,’ he said. ‘That was a parent. That was a father. And I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard.’
Footage also later emerged of James talking to NBA analyst and former teammate Richard Jefferson, in which he could be heard discussing what he’d said to Smith.
‘That’s the only thing I’m tripping,’ James could be heard saying in footage obtained by LegendZ .
‘I don’t give a f***. Once he talks about: ‘I’m pleading to you as a father’. I can’t.’
James is currently dealing with a groin injury and has not played since March 8.
Bronny, who has switched between the NBA and G League this season, is averaging just 1.7 points per contest for the Lakers, but played a season-high 16 minutes last week against the Nuggets.
