Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James were at the center of a heated exchange earlier this month when the LA Lakers hosted the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena. Smith, who attended the game, became a topic of discussion after James confronted him over his criticism of Bronny James.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, James took aim at Smith, criticizing their past interaction, his comments about Bronny, and what James described as Smith’s “Taylor Swift tour run.” According to James, Smith continued discussing the matter despite initially claiming he wanted to avoid it.
In response, Smith fired back on his show the same day, directly calling James a liar.
“My issue is with LeBron James,” Smith stated. “I just want to say for the record, LeBron is full of it. And in this particular instance as it pertains to his son, he is a liar. He went on national television today and he lied again.”
Smith maintained that his criticism was not directed at Bronny but rather at LeBron for placing his son in a situation where he would face intense scrutiny.
Stephen A. Smith Says LeBron’s Team Never Followed Up on Show Invitation
Beyond the heated exchange, Smith revealed that he had previously been invited to appear on The Shop, a show produced by LeBron’s media team.
According to Smith, Maverick Carter and Rich Paul reached out to him about making an appearance. He agreed but set two conditions: LeBron had to be present, and the conversation could not be edited.
Since making that request, Smith said he never received a follow-up.“Crickets! Never heard from them since… I know Mav would put me on in a heartbeat. Rich Paul and the rest of the crew, all of them, in a heartbeat.”
