Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James took to social media to let the basketball world know he ā€œspeaks for himselfā€ after reports surfaced of a potential evaluation and return date ā€” and Stephen A Smith is not having it.

The longtime sports talk show host shared his thoughts on James' tweet on First Take on Friday.

ā€œI appreciate LeBron's candor, I definitely applaud him for it,ā€ Smith began, before making his feelings known.

ā€œLeBron, it's not like you always speak for yourself though. Thats not true. Don't lie. There's plenty of people who speak for you. Kendrick Perkins and I hear from them constantly. I just wanted to throw that out there.ā€

The comment garnered a chuckle from Perkins, and while moderator Molly Qerim began to segway into the Lakers' victory over the Suns on Wednesday night, Smith wasn't finished.

ā€œHe just speaks for himself. That is not true! There's plenty of people who speak for him.ā€

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The comments come after an ESPN report from Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski stated that James was being evaluated and could return to the Lakers' lineup by the final week of the regular season.

James took to Twitter to state that no such evaluation had happened:

ā€œThere wasnā€™t an evaluation today and there hasnā€™t been any target date for my return,ā€ James wrote on Thursday. ā€œIā€™m just working around the clock, every day (3X a day) to give myself to best chance of coming back full strength whenever that is. God bless yā€™all sources. I speak for myself!ā€

Whether or not LeBron actually speaks for himself in these matters seems to be in question, but it looks like a return in the final week of the regular season cannot yet be confirmed.

Regardless, strong words from Stephen A Smith to Lakers superstar LeBron James on Friday.