Stephen A. Smith decided to take a subtle shot at LeBron James when discussing JJ Redick and his recent success. Redick is a former NBA player and even had a close relationship with James before becoming the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.
There is no denying that this season has gone incredibly well for Redick. His team currently holds the second spot in a tough Western Conference and is arguably the best team in the league after the trade deadline.
While the segment that Smith and the rest of his crew were focusing on appeared to be Redick’s success as a new coach, Smith could not contain himself and ended up involving James.
With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more on what was said.
Stephen A. Smith Is Clearly Irked With LeBron James
The Lakers’ choice to hire Redick was scrutinized quite heavily several months ago. After all, there were several promising candidates. At the time, several members of the media, such as Smith, theorized that the Lakers hired Redick in order to appease James.
After all, James and Redick had a podcast together and discussed baseball at an intricate level. Watching the podcast may have played a role in the Lakers’ decision to bring on Redick as their new head coach.
Since the Lakers are doing well this season, one would assume that Smith would recant on his earlier statements. However, he went in the opposite direction and accused James of behaving in a low-class manner.
“What do you say about JJ Redick? Good Lord have mercy.” 😂 @stephenasmith says Lakers HC JJ Redick is a “coach of the year candidate.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/dPBGENfbnf
— First Take (@FirstTake) March 5, 2025
Although Smith did not offer anything substantial, he alleged that James’ mere engagement in a podcast with a potential candidate for the Lakers’ head coach position when Darvin Ham’s job was at risk was unethical in itself.
That certainly sounds like a stretch. A few days ago, James spoke to the media postgame and claimed that young stars such as Anthony Edwards should hesitate to become the face of the league. He defended his stance by stating that being the face of the league gained nothing but constant criticism from the media.
Since Smith has been one of the faces of the NBA media, he clearly got offended and has been in a bad mood whenever James has been mentioned. Fans are left wondering if this behavior will continue and whether this is a sign of unprofessionalism from Smith.