Published by: Valdemar Carnegie
Updated: 9:00 AM EST, March 8, 2025
Original Photo: Screengrab via X
On Thursday night, March 6, 2025, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 113-109 in a hard-fought game. James had an impressive performance with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. However, despite his strong showing on the court, James made headlines for something other than his game performance.
After the game, James approached sports journalist and host of First Take, Stephen A. Smith. Before either of them could explain what was said, social media users quickly speculated, with many lip readers coming to the same conclusion: “Keep my son out of this s***, bro!” James appeared to be referring to his son and current teammate, James Jr.
What Led to the Confrontation?
Smith had mentioned James Jr. on his show in the past, but instead of simply critiquing James Jr.’s performance, Smith used him to critique James. On January 29, 2025, Smith said, “I am pleading with James as a father to stop this, we all know James Jr. is in the NBA because of his father,” adding, “He’s not ready!” Later that day on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith, visibly frustrated, shared that some of James’ friends had reached out to him, asking if he was questioning James’ fatherhood. Smith then said, “I refused to watch James Jr. play in college because if I watched him play, I was going to have to talk about James’ son!” He also stressed that he always praises James’ greatness and his role as a father, saying, “How many times do I have to rave about James’ greatness?” Smith pointed out that when he talks about James’ excellence, he’s praised, but when it’s not focused on his greatness, he’s labeled as a hater.
Stephen A. Smith’s Reaction to the Confrontation
On March 7, 2025, during First Take, Smith confirmed that the confrontation was about James Jr. He explained, “That was James coming up to me unexpectedly… to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son.” Smith spoke calmly while addressing the situation, saying he hadn’t intended to talk about it, but the viral video forced him to. He added, “That was not a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father, so I can’t feel slighted in any way.” As a parent himself, Smith seemed to understand James’ reaction. He also mentioned that James could have reached out privately about the issue, as Smith has connections with James’ friends, Rich Paul (James’ agent) and Maverick Carter. Reflecting on the confrontation, Smith said that if the conversation had been private, he would have told James, “I never would speak negatively about your son, I was talking about you.” Smith also wished James Jr. success, saying, “I hope James Jr. flourishes.”
Smith later revealed on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, that James’ exact words during the confrontation were: “Stop f****** with my son. That’s my f****** son.” Smith responded, “What?” to which James reiterated, “No! Straight up, man to man, stop f****** with my son!”
Smith also mentioned that other NBA players, including Draymond Green, have stopped speaking to him due to his past comments about James Jr.
My Take
In my opinion, James was wrong to confront Smith about James Jr. While James is arguably the greatest player of all time, his son isn’t exempt from criticism. James should understand that his son will always be judged differently because he’s the son of a star player. Critiquing James Jr.’s current play reflects the expectations set by James’ legendary career. Every NBA player is a son of someone, and just because James Jr. is in the league doesn’t mean he’s immune to criticism if his performance isn’t up to par.
Side Note: James raised expectations last year when he tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) that James Jr. was already better than some NBA players, saying, “Man, Bronny definitely better than some of these cats I’ve been watching on League Pass today.”
Was James wrong to confront Smith over his comments about James Jr.? While it’s understandable for a father to defend his son, criticism of James Jr.’s play is inevitable due to his connection to one of the greatest players of all time and it comes with his job as a professional athlete. What do you think? Should James have approached the situation differently?