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After a scintillating overtime victory over the Knicks, LeBron James appeared to go face to face with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
James appeared clearly irritated with Smith as he approached him, showing visible anger during their conversation. The interaction did not end well, as the agitated Lakers star walked off to the locker room.
Smith, on the other hand, expressed his disagreement by shaking his head as he sat back down. Meanwhile, James left the court after the 113-109 win, a game that saw Jalen Brunson suffer an unfortunate ankle injury.
Some on social media claim to be lip-reading experts and are speculating that James told Smith, “Keep my son out of this s–t, bro.”
Smith previously made critical comments about James’ oldest son amid Bronny’s struggles with the Lakers.
On the Jan. 29 episode of “First Take” on ESPN, Smith made a plea to LeBron James, urging him to cease his actions. He specifically mentioned Bronny James, insinuating that his presence in the NBA is solely due to his father’s influence.
While it’s unclear what exactly had James so upset with the ESPN host, James’ agency, Klutch Sports. had previously told Smith to leave Bronny alone.
“It’s got to a point where this LeBron sensitivity is just beyond the pale,” Smith said on the “Stephen A. Smith Show” in reaction to James’ team reaching out to him about his son on Feb. 1.
Smith added that Klutch reaching out to him “pissed” him off.
The James and Smith stand-off is one of the concluding narratives after Thursday night’s thrilling game, in which the Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter before prevailing in overtime.
He is being paid a hefty $100 million salary over the next five years with ESPN in a deal that will require substantially less from him.