After a scintillating overtime victory over the Knicks, LeBron James appeared to go face to face with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
James looked clearly irritated with Smith as he approached him and appeared angry as he talked to him – with the conversation not ending cordially, as the agitated Lakers star walked off to the locker room.
Smith shook his head in disagreement as he plopped back down to his seat, and James left the court after the 113-109 win that featured Jalen Brunson suffering an ugly ankle injury.
Some on social media claim to be lip-reading experts and are speculating that James told Smith, “Keep my son out of this s–t, bro.”
Smith previously made critical comments about James’ oldest son amid Bronny’s struggles with the Lakers.
“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this,” Smith said on Jan. 29’s episode of “First Take” on ESPN. “We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”
While it’s unclear what exactly had James so upset with the ESPN host, James’ agency, Klutch Sports. had previously told Smith to leave Bronny alone.
“It’s got to a point where this LeBron sensitivity is just beyond the pale,” Smith said on the “Stephen A. Smith Show” in reaction to James’ team reaching out to him about his son on Feb. 1.
Smith added that Klutch reaching out to him “pissed” him off.
The James and Smith stand-off is one of the concluding narratives after Thursday night’s thrilling game, in which the Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter before prevailing in overtime.
He is being paid a hefty $100 million salary over the next five years with ESPN in a deal that will require substantially less from him.
