Lakers' LeBron James Compares Stephen A Smith to Taylor Swift in Ongoing Feud

The Lakers legend compared the ESPN pundit to one of the most famous stars in the world.
Mar 24, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Mar 24, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
In this story:

LeBron James is one of the most famous athletes in the world. He has been famous since before he entered the NBA. Even when he was with the Cavs, he was known worldwide.

Now that he's with the Los Angeles Lakers, everything he says has been amplified even greater. He is on one of the most famous franchises in all of sports.

James has had some very public things happen to him since he moved to LA. The most recent thing was the public feud that he has had with Stephen A. Smith over some criticism of his son, Bronny.

Read more: LeBron James’ Podcast Returns With Former Lakers Guard as Co-Host

Ahead of the Lakers' matchup with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, James had a very long conversation with Pat McAfee on his show. He covered a wide variety of topics, including his feud with Smith.

During his explanation, he compared Smith to Taylor Swift.

"He's like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now. It started off with, 'I didn't want to address it. I wasn't going to address it. But since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.' Are you kidding me? If there's one person that couldn't wait for the video to drop so you can address it, it's your ass."

James clearly thinks that Smith wanted to talk about it as soon as it happened, which he obviously did. But he didn't stop there when talking about the saga.

More Lakers news: LeBron James Injury Status for Lakers vs Pacers

"He completely missed the whole point, the whole point. Never would I ever not allow people to talk about the sport and criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job. To criticize, or to, you know, be in a position where if a guy is not performing, that is all part of the game. But 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 clearly was not pleased with the manner in which Smith had been talking about Bronny. It seems that James still doesn't believe that Smith understands why what he was doing was wrong.

It's very clear that this is not something that these two have patched up. James is still not pleased with how Smith is covering his son as a media member.

More Los Angeles Lakers news: Lakers Critic Stephen A Smith Confirms He's Rooting for LA in Postseason

Luka Doncic Offers Brutal Honesty on Lakers’ Recent Rough Stretch

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.


Published