Stephen A. Smith torches LeBron James for media rant: ‘I know he’s talking about me’

Stephen A. Smith opened First Take with a six-minute, uninterrupted rant to fire back at LeBron James for criticizing the NBA media.

As NBA media seems desperate to crown Anthony Edwards as the next face of the league, James wondered whether any player should want to assume the title, citing constant negativity from the people who cover the sport.

“Why do you wanna be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day to day basis shit on everybody?” James asked reporters Thursday night.

And Stephen A. Smith took that personally.

“There’s a narrative that goes around these days…where if you’re a brother and you’re talking about brothers, ‘Oh, you’re just hating on brothers.’ It’s like Black on Black crime.” – Stephen A. Smith fires back at LeBron James’ NBA media criticism pic.twitter.com/zwzdPC2F62

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 28, 2025

“First of all, there’s a whole bunch of players that cover the league. They’re former players. They’re not just reporters, they’re former players. Former big-time players, former Hall-of-Fame players, they talk about the league too,” Smith ranted Friday morning on First Take. “Is everything negative?

“I want to say this too. There’s a narrative that goes around these days…where if you’re a brother and you’re talking about brothers, ‘Oh, you’re just hating on brothers.’ It’s like Black on Black crime. Well if a brother busts your ass, and you happen to be a brother that got your ass busted, then how is it that? You’re praising the brother that gave it to you and you’re highlighting the brother that got it given to him. That’s what you’re doing. But people don’t bring this kind of stuff up.”

No, no they don’t. Smith didn’t provide examples of LeBron getting his ass busted, but he did go on to highlight some of the things from his career that are worthy of criticism, such as The Decision. Smith, however, insisted he doesn’t just focus on those negative things.

“When he talks about people covering the league, we know he’s talking about me…and he’s not just talking about people like me, he talked about Inside the NBA” pic.twitter.com/xkrSoR2XcW

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 28, 2025

“We could sit up there and say something smells like perfume, they’ll accuse us of saying it’s passing gas,” Smith said of NBA players. “No matter what we say about these players, there’s always something for them to complain about.”

“When he talks about people covering the league, we know he’s talking about people like me,” Smith continued of LeBron. “Damnit, I’m gonna say it, I’m gonna be cocky enough to say I’m one of the people he alluded to. That’s nonsense! I challenge anybody to show somebody that loves the NBA and supports the NBA more than me…and he’s not just talking about people like me. He talked about Inside the NBA. He didn’t say their names, we know who you alluded to.”

“To sit up there and say, ‘Why would you want to be the face of the league when everybody is talking ‘bleep’ about you all the damn time,’ I’m sick and tired of them acting like everybody is talking ‘bleep’ about them all the damn time.”

James’ rant, which echoed what his head coach JJ Redick said earlier this season, may have been an overreaction to an NBA media that largely provides a soft-landing spot for the league’s players and teams. Analysis is critical, that doesn’t mean it’s insulting or personal. But here Smith is, basically doing the same thing that he’s criticizing LeBron for, just with much more theatrics. And hopefully you enjoyed the performance more than Brian Windhorst and Gilbert Arenas appeared to.