Stephen A. Smith is a good actor.
There’s no denying that. The face of ESPN and star of First Take knows how to give a monologue — and he sure as hell knows how to put on a show. And put on a show he did, as Smith looked into the cameras while on ESPN’s airwaves on Thursday and pleaded with LeBron James as a “father” to “stop this.”
The “stop this,” he’s referring to is Bronny James, who played just 15 minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 118-104 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. But in those 15 minutes, the eldest son of LeBron James went 0-for-5 from the field (0-for-3 beyond the arc) with three turnovers, three rebounds and an assist.
He was clearly overmatched, and Smith was beside himself, pleading with James in a General Hopsital-worthy perfromance that had Dan Patrick and his Dannettes in stitches.
“I’m really, really trying to be as respectful as I possibly can be toward LeBron James, one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball,” Smith said. “I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season … father-son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time, an absolutely, positively wonderful story.
“And then reality sets in. We love what we’re seeing from (Bronny) in the G League, because that’s where you belong, as you hone your skills and you get better and you legitimately earn, which I believe he has the potential to do. I am rooting for Bronny James … he’s a wonderful kid, I wish him nothing but the best.”
“I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this.” 😳 @stephenasmith reacts to Bronny James’ play in the Lakers 118-104 loss to the 76ers. pic.twitter.com/bk5D0DS42N
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 29, 2025
Patrick couldn’t help put giggle as he played the audio on Friday’s addition of The Dan Patrick Show.
He lauded Smith and his prowess, but couldn’t get over the tone he choose to deliver the aforementioned monologue to LeBron James.
“You’re not sending him to Afghanistan — good God! Oh my God, I wasn’t that serious at my mom’s funeral,” said Patrick. “‘Stop this.’ ‘Stop this.’ “[I am] pleading with you.’ Wow. If you didn’t know the context, but I just said, listen to his voice. You’d be like, ‘Oh my God, somebody passed away. What happened?'”
As Smith was really, really trying to be as respectful as possible, Patrick was really, really trying not to laugh.
“He’s a great actor,” Patrick offered of Smith. “He’s great — absolutely. There is always theatre…”
“He got into basketball game,” the longtime radio host and ex-SportsCenter anchor quipped. “He’s not in Iraq.”
But he might as well have been, if you were listening to Smith.
“It sounds like Liam Neeson in Taken,” Patrick later added.
