The tussle between Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James is like a bad reality show—just when you think it’s over, another episode drops. This time, it’s Smith who’s lashing out, fed up with the internet twisting his words.
Taking to Twitter, the outspoken ESPN analyst made it crystal clear—if James had ever put hands on him, he wouldn’t have just stood there like a deer in headlights. What set him off? The latest wave of accusations twisting his words from a recent podcast, where he claimed he wouldn’t have backed down if James had ever put hands on him.
Smith Claps Back – “I Would’ve Swung on Him!”
Smith had enough. With social media running wild over his supposed fear of James, he shut it down with a fiery tweet:
“Nice try, folks. On my show, I said I would’ve swung on @KingJames had he slapped me—like lots of y’all said I was scared he would’ve done a few weeks ago. I also said immediately after that I would’ve gotten my ass thoroughly kicked by the 6’8”, 250lb Goliath, but folks just left that part of my YouTube sentence out, huh? Okay. Have fun!”
Nice try folks. On my show, I said I would’ve swung on @KingJames had he slapped me — like lots of y’all said I was scared he would’ve done a few weeks ago. I also said immediately after that I would’ve gotten my ass thoroughly kicked by the 6’8”, 250lb Goliath, but folks just…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith)
In case anyone missed it, he doubled down on the latest episode of First Take, making it clear that he wasn’t about to be anybody’s punching bag—even if it meant getting laid out in the process.
Smith was referring to his Wednesday night podcast, where he expanded on his stance regarding James:
“Let me assure you, it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my ass kicked. Because if that man put his hands on me, I would’ve immediately swung on him. Immediately. That, I’m not going to tolerate. But I knew he wasn’t going to do something like that.”
You could practically sense the frustration – Smith wasn’t just responding to random trolls, he was firing back at none other than James himself.
Smith’s Comments Came After LeBron’s Fresh Jabs
This fresh mess started when James took a direct jab at Smith on The Pat McAfee Show. The Lakers superstar, clearly fed up with the analyst’s constant chatter, didn’t hold back playfully saying, “He’s on a Taylor Swift tour run right now.”
The Lakers superstar then went on mocking the ESPN analyst in a way only he could:
“When you take it and you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household, but protect the players,” James said. “And I think a lot of the media, including him—and I know he’s gonna be happy as hell.
“He’s gonna be smiling from ear to ear when he hears me talking about him again. Oh my God, he’s, he’s gonna get home and grab some ice cream out of the f**king freezer and sit in his chair in his tighty whities on the couch, like, dude, like relax, bro, like relax, like seriously.”
That was just the latest chapter in their beef, which truly exploded on March 6 when James confronted Smith mid-game during the Lakers-Knicks showdown. Right as he was torching the Knicks on the court, he made sure to light up Smith off it—demanding that he stop talking about Bronny James.
The moment sent the NBA world into a frenzy, with fans debating whether Smith crossed a line by critiquing James’ son. Ironically, after Bronny put up a career-high 17 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 20, Smith actually walked back his criticism, even admitting:
“I might have been wrong. Are you listening, LeBron James?”
But let’s be real—this feud isn’t cooling off anytime soon. With both men refusing to back down, it’s only a matter of time before the next chapter of the LeBron-SAS drama unfolds.
