Stephen A. Smith opened his “first take” on Friday morning by dealing with the current Villar interaction with LeBron James, who infused courtside during a Thursday night victory with the Knicks during overtime at the Lakers' home.
Called the “unexpected” conflict, Smith, 57, spoke at length about what happened, stressing that there is an exchange between him and his fellow father, not a 21-time NBA All-star.
“It was LeBron James approaching me. Unexpectedly, I might add to confront me about caring about what I say about his son,” Smith said of James' eldest son, 20-year-old Lakers rookie Bronnie James.
“I can't repeat the words because it's not suitable for FCC radio waves. That's what he was doing. And I've been thinking about this for the past few hours long and difficult because it was a one-on-one. I'm not going to say it's a conversation, but it was a one-on-one conflict. But I've gotten awake and everyone from ESPN, my agent and everyone else sent me that this was viral, so it's inevitable in the end, so now I have to argue about it.
“It wasn't a basketball player who stood up to me, it was a parent, it was a father. I can't sit here and be mad or be downplayed by LeBron James. In all the explanations, he is clearly a great family man and father who cares so deeply about his son, and based on some of the comments he thinks he's heard, or apparently an exception to some of the things he's heard, and he confronted me about it.”
Smith continues that James' representative has his contact information, and if the three fathers were interested in private conversations, the ESPN star, who has re-updated the network with a five-year $100 million deal, would have been open to doing so.
“That's not what he did. Instead, he chose to stand up to me while I was sitting courtside,” Smith continued Friday. “…He walked over to me, he said what he had to say, and he feels like I'm disrespecting his son. Now, tell me what I feel. If we were in another environment, what I said was because I wasn't going to engage in conflict in that particular moment in that environment. But if he had had that conversation, I would have told LeBron James that I wouldn't talk negatively about your son. I was talking about you.”
Smith added that he was selected 55th overall by the Lakers in last year's NBA Draft, but has a “best wish for Bronnie James” struggling at the pro level.
Social Media Lip Leader estimated on Thursday James told Smith“I'll keep my son out of this s-t.”
“I hope he will flourish on the NBA star,” Smith continued with his previous USC products. “…I don't know anyone who disagrees with him. That's certainly not me. But in the same breath, when we were talking about him, he was pervasive to the extent that Bronnie James' story went viral, and we have to talk about it. And when I said what I said, I wasn't talking about Bronnie James, because my attitude is because he's a newcomer. [Lakers coach] JJ Redick and the staff coaching him.
“LeBron James was on the record, so I was talking about the position he was placed by his father. I'm reading the quote. There was a quote he gave in February 2024. If he doesn't care what the mock draft is saying, he's just working. He wasn't given.”
Smith He also highlighted his comments before drafting. James, from age 40, pointed out, “Whatever Brony is, that's where I am,” highlighting the pressure below that budding athletes.
“…It's anything like it relates to his son, and because of what his father and his father said, Bronnie James' microscopic eyes will be even stronger,” Smith said. “And that's what I was talking about, that's where I was coming.
“I can say a little more frankly about it, but it was about his son, to be very honest with you and to have LeBron look at me like he did, to hear what he has to say, to be the father of two daughters, to know how much love I have for the kids.”
Smith repeated in the situation where he was not talking on Bronney, but with James and his son.
“I really understood where he came from. He was very, very upset. “…In the end, as a father, like I said, I get it. I'm not offended, I'm not humiliated… I can't be sure I wouldn't have done the same if I had been in his position. I'm not blaming him a bit.”
Smith previously talked about James and Bronnie in a “First Take” article in late January. So he told the Lakers superstar, “Stop this.”
“We all know that Bronnie James is in the NBA for his dad. The first game of the season, the opening night, the attending Griffey and the father-son duo perform in the NBA games for the first time, and it's an absolutely positive and great story. And reality begins,” Smith said, adding that he is rooting for Bronnie's success.
James' agency, Krucci Sports, previously told Smith to soften Brony.
The Lakers improved to 40-21 on Thursday, and the Knicks, now 40-22, were waiting for news for star Jalen Brunson, who came out early with an ankle injury.
