Stephen A Smith Completely Changes Tune on Lakers' Bronny James After Career Night

The Los Angeles Lakers rookie has made Stephen A. Smith change his mind on criticizing him.

Mar 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) inbound the ball in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

There has been a lot of talk around Bronny James this season. The Los Angeles Lakers rookie was a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and was a very polarizing choice.

Despite being a second-round pick, he has endured criticism from both fans and the NBA media alike. He has tried his best to ignore the noise on the outside and just focus on his game.

James' work paid off on Thursday night as he had the best night of his NBA career. James poured in a career-high 17 points against the Bucks while playing 30 minutes in the game.

Read more: Lakers News: Bronny James Erupts For Career Game in Loss to Bucks

Stephen A. Smith had a very public beef with LeBron James during a game over his coverage of Bronny. LeBron didn't believe that what he was saying was fair.

After this game against the Bucks, Smith seems to be changing his tune. In fact, he actually admits that he was wrong about Bronny.

"I've always believed that this kid has the potential, once I watched him, to be in the NBA."

- Stephen A. Smith on Bronny James

(h/t @awfulannouncing )

pic.twitter.com/5mFXRM2MIx

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 21, 2025

"I might've been wrong. Are you listening, LeBron James? Are you listening, James family? Are you listening, Rich Paul? Are you listening, all you people? Because here's my position. My position was all along, Bronny James needs to be in the G League. Put him in the G League, let him be in the G League his first year, and then after that, let him come on."

Smith does not admit that he is wrong very often. He usually has a take that he sticks with. It's not very easy to take him off a position once he declares it.

More Lakers news: Lakers' Bronny James Slams Haters Over Criticism During First NBA Season

James has put in a lot of work in order to see results like this on a regular basis. Obviously, he needs to keep working as hard as he can so he can become a regular part of the rotation moving forward.

This is a positive step for James in his NBA career. He just needs a little more consistency before he can be trusted with as many minutes as he played against the Bucks.

So far this season, James is averaging 2.3 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game.

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