In case you were wondering, Stephen A. Smith has heard back about his criticism of Bronny James.
No, it wasn’t Dan Patrick mocking his dramatic diatribe, but rather someone close to LeBron James, or as Smith insinuated, ‘The King’s’ representation.
The First Take star recently implored James to step in and do something about his eldest son getting emasculated on the court earlier this week. Smith tried to appeal to LeBron as a father, urging him to stop putting Bronny on an NBA court. And based on Bronny’s performance in a 118-104 Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s clear he’s not ready for that stage.
But it appears LeBron and CO. thought Smith took it a step too far.
Stephen A Smith says Lebron is SOFT for having Klutch Sports contact him about critisizing Bronny 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/fER7HwDGVs
— Thetruth (@Thetruth8240) January 31, 2025
“A couple of people texted me and pissed me — and they know who they are,” said Smith. “People close to LeBron James talking to me about questioning him as a father. C’mon, y’all. I mean, it’s got to a point where this LeBron sensitivity is just beyond the pale. You call him the second-best player in the history of the game; you’re insulting him because you said he’s not the GOAT.
“You’re saying that at age 40, we’ve never seen anyone do what he does, but pointing out at times that he might not have hustled back on defense in a key, pivotal moment, and that’s a problem. You give him all the praise in the world when he drops 40, and he has a bad night — and you say, ‘He had a bad night,’ — and you’re hating. It’s ridiculous.”
But Smith also found it ridiculous that he heard from Klutch Sports.
“But never before has it been more ridiculous than it is right now because the reality is, we gotta be real about what we’re seeing when we talk about Bronny James,” Smith says. “I am not a person that had a problem with Bronny James being on the court for the season-opener with LeBron James. That was a phenomenal moment to see a father on the court with his son, who has NBA aspirations, playing together for the first time in NBA history. The Griffeys in baseball — Ken Griffey Sr. and Junior were in attendance for it. It was a special moment.
“My position has always been: that should’ve been the only moment we saw Bronny James in a Lakers uniform this season because he’s not ready. I’m not here to tell you that he won’t be ready. I’m not here to tell you that he won’t be an NBA player. I’m not here to tell you that he should give up his dreams and aspirations; I think the kid’s got potential. I think the kid will be in the NBA one day. I watch him in the G League doing his thing. I think he’s gonna be fine — eventually.”
But that’s not the case yet, says Smith.
“I do find myself looking at LeBron James instead of Bronny James because LeBron is a basketball savant,” Smith continued. “LeBron is one of the greatest two players in the history of the game. LeBron has forgotten more basketball than most people would know. So, no matter what we think about Bronny — he knows more. But you see what you see.
“Bronny James has played in 13 NBA games. Ladies and gentlemen, he’s averaging 0.3 points, 0.3 assists, and 0.4 rebounds. He’s shot 1-for-16 from the field in his NBA career and 0-for-7 from three-point range. And he’s playing in the first quarter of an NBA game? Really? And everyone wants to look at it like LeBron has nothing to do with that? ‘He didn’t tell J.J. Redick to put him in the game.’ I get all of that.
“But come on, I’m not being cruel to Bronny; I’m looking out. Do you want it this way, LeBron? Do you want it this way, Rich Paul? Do you want it this way? He can’t go into the G League and average 20-25 and stay there until he’s ready? Because he’s LeBron’s son, you know how they’re gonna judge him.
“And before anyone wants to jump on me, remember, I never saw Bronny James play until he showed up in the NBA and the G League. I refused to watch him because if I watched him, I’d have to talk about him, and I didn’t want to talk about LeBron James’ son because I thought it was so unfair to the kid. He’s such a wonderful kid; wonderful family.”
Reading between the lines, Smith wanted to send a message to LeBron’s camp loud and clear — if they think this is the end of it, they have another thing coming. He’s not backing off his take, even though there seemed to be some hard feelings about his questioning of LeBron’s parenting.
The truth is, Bronny’s probably not ready for the NBA — and Smith’s not backing down from saying it.
