Stephen A. Smith is making another baseless attack on LeBron James.
Stephen A. Smith made headlines last season for his comments about LeBron James and his son Bronny.
Smith accused James of hurting Bronny’s career with certain decisions. King felt he crossed a line as a father, and LeBron confronted Smith during a Lakers game.
Since then, Smith has taken full advantage of the spotlight that the superstar has placed on him, going on to lash out at LeBron many times when he has faced him.
James responded to Smith’s comments only once, but remained mostly silent on the subject. But that didn’t stop ESPN analysts from continuing to discuss their disdain for him.
Stephen A. Smith was a guest on Ryan Clark’s The Pivot podcast. When discussing his issues with LeBron James, the ESPN mogul once again tried to shine a light on his failures.
This time, we focused on James’ collapse during the 2011 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, when he struggled to perform well in the fourth quarter of multiple games.
“You don’t like me because I call you what I see. You’re not Michael Jordan. You’re not the GOAT. You choked in the NBA Finals.
“Four straight times in the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals, this guy had four points. One game, he had zero points in the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals. Jason Terry or JJ Barea was guarding him.
“I can’t explain it. For someone who knows basketball, it’s a breathtaking job.”
Stephen A. Smith, a shrewd and savvy operator in the NBA media world, tried to get out of the line of fire as quickly as possible.
Smith dismissed LeBron’s issues with the coverage of Bronny, believing the real crux of the issue between the two is how they view James in the GOAT debate.
What Smith doesn’t acknowledge is that throughout his career LeBron James has maintained cordial relationships with members of the media who have ranked Michael Jordan above him.
It’s easier for Smith to make this point about superficial issues like the GOAT controversy than to actually take responsibility for the way he tried to involve LeBron James and Bronny in a disrespectful narrative.