LeBron James fired back at ESPN star Stephen A. Smith in an interview Wednesday with the sports pundit’s colleague, Pat McAfee, after a video of the Los Angeles Lakers star confronting Smith surfaced earlier this month.

James appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and addressed how the media covers the NBA. 

He said Smith was on a “Taylor Swift tour run right now” and appeared to mock how Smith addressed the viral clip when he said he didn’t want to initially address it.

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“Motherf—er, are you kidding me? If there’s one person that couldn’t wait until the video to drop so you could address it is your a–. Like, seriously?”

Then, James got a bit more serious.

“And another (thing). He completely missed the whole point, the whole point. Never in my … never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport, criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job – to criticize or be in a position where, OK, a guy is not performing … that is all part of the game. When you take it and when you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players.

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LeBron James (23) and Bronny James (9) of the Los Angeles Lakers on the court for the first time during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena Oct. 22, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

“I think a lot of the media, including him, and I know he’s gonna be happy as hell, he’s gonna be smiling from ear to ear when he hears me talking about him. … Like, relax bro.”

The dispute was over Smith’s remarks about LeBron’s son, Bronny. The elder son of LeBron was a standout high school athlete who played one season at USC while overcoming a cardiac arrest before he decided to turn pro.

The Lakers selected Bronny James in the draft last summer, and he and Lebron made history earlier in the season by becoming the first father-son duo to be on the court together.

Smith has said Bronny James is only in the NBA “because of” LeBron. The four-time NBA champion let Smith know he didn’t like the remarks.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James watches his teammates play during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs in Los Angeles March 17, 2025.  (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

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“That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me. That was a parent. That was a father,” Smith said earlier this month on ESPN. “I can’t sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in that regard. By all accounts, he’s obviously a wonderful family man and father who cares very, very deeply about his son.

“And, based on some of the comments he had heard — or shall I say I think he thought he heard — clearly took exception to some of the things he heard me say, and he confronted me about it.”

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