Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James confronted ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, which has many speculating about the context of the exchange. Many believe it was over James’ son, Bronny James, as Smith has been critical toward the Lakers’ prospect. In January, Smith asked LeBron to the Bronny charade, stating the second-round draft pick didn’t belong in the NBA.
A video of the confrontation went viral on social media, and Legion Hoops suggests it was about James’ son, Bronny, per X, formerly Twitter.
“Looks like Bron’s telling him ‘keep my son out of this s***,’” the post says.
Then, James walked off the floor after the Lakers’ 113-109 overtime win against the Knicks. LeBron finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in Thursday's 113-109 win.
Stephen A Smith reveals why LeBron James confronted him
After the clip of Lakers superstar LeBron James went viral, ESPN's Stephen A Smith addressed James Friday morning.
Smith explained what happened, per ESPN's First Take.




“That was LeBron James coming up to me unexpectedly, I might add… to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son [Bronny],” Smith said.
Smith revealed his decision to speak about the incident, explaining that he initially had no plans to address it but felt compelled to do so after the clip went viral.
“I thought long and hard about this over the last few hours because I had no intention of talking about this at all. The reason why was because it was a one-on-one, I wouldn't say a conversation, but it was a one-on-one confrontation,” Smith added. “But then I wake up, and everybody from ESPN, my agent, and everybody else were sending me that this thing had gone viral. So, ultimately, it was unavoidable, and that is why I have to discuss it now.”
"That was LeBron James making sure that I mind what I say about [Bronny]… That wasn't a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father."
Stephen A. Smith on LBJ confronting him about his comments on Bronny 🗣️
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/47W41VySOQ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 7, 2025
The Lakers will face the Celtics on Saturday.