When it comes to social media, Kevin Love has quite the presence.
How much of that presence is actually Love himself? That’s a story for another day. But whether it’s Instagram or X, the Miami Heat forward clearly has a unique voice.
And on Friday, Love (or whoever runs his social media accounts) used that voice to mock Stephen A. Smith’s response to his viral confrontation with LeBron James the night before. Only the 5-time NBA All-Star didn’t criticize the ESPN star’s comments, so much as he made fun of his explanation for addressing the matter publicly.
Taking to X just after 9 a.m. ET on Friday, Smith teased the upcoming episode of First Take by reposting the footage of the viral showdown, promising to address it on the show.
“I didn’t want to have to address this. I wouldn’t have, either, had it not gone viral. Now I have no choice,” Smith wrote. “@FirstTake first at 10am EST. Then….The Stephen A. Smith Show on YouTube! Some things just have to be said.”
Roughly 90 minutes later, Love reposted Smith’s post while mocking the idea that the First Take star had “no choice” but to address the comments.
“You have no choice? lol. Because it went viral? lol,” Love wrote. “You didn’t want to have to? lol You wouldn’t have? lol.”
You have no choice? lol
Because it went viral? lol
You didn’t want to have to? lol
You wouldn’t have? lol https://t.co/u7g8PTF4Cj
— Kevin Love (@kevinlove) March 7, 2025
In Smith’s defense, not addressing the confrontation would have been odd, especially considering its viral nature. One can certainly question whether ESPN’s new $100 million man actually wanted to stay away from the topic or not. But the reality is that once it went viral, it was only inevitable that it would be discussed on Friday’s episode of First Take.
Still, Smith acting like he was all but forced to address the confrontation was a bit melodramatic and Love was hardly alone in mocking his post. Ultimately, it’s hardly a surprise that the 36-year-old forward would have his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate’s back — even if James didn’t always have his.
