Stephen A. Smith and LeBron James had an explosive feud over Smith’s comments about Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
But in an attempt to ensure that the rivalry between the two never dies, Smith explained that the tension between the pair goes back even further and relates to the NBA GOAT debate between LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Why is this relevant with the 41 year-old James trying to lead the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs? ESPN’s Dave McMenamin published excerpts from several sitdowns over the course of a year-long interview with James that’s remarkable for its length and depth. That fact alone gives James a heads up over Jordan and his lone interview for his “special contributor” role with the NBA on NBC.
Naturally, the one quote making the most headlines is James’ reflection on the debate with Jordan and the pair’s intertwining legacies. LeBron praised MJ, saying he hopes he made him proud in wearing the number 23 and saying their games were very different from one another. He also admitted the debate was a “very tiring conversation” and that it was sure to be misinterpreted.
Enter Stephen A. Smith.
It’s no surprise that First Take dove into the Jordan-James discussion in an extended segment with Smith talking with Michael Wilbon and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. But honestly, it’s a debate that we have already seen a thousand times before. It also featured Smith ranting about current NBA players being too sensitive, another favorite complaint in the six-minute spiel.
“He’s on the Mount Rushmore of basketball. He never hears that. Instead, he hears, ‘Oh, he’s not the G.O.A.T.’ And because of that, it’s insulting to him.” 😳@stephenasmith reacts to LeBron’s response to the G.O.A.T. debate 🐐 pic.twitter.com/eBs37YvROe
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 29, 2026
But what is actually interesting about this is that Smith again repeated some of what he said later in the day on Wednesday on his SiriusXM radio show. And in re-telling his story about James’ agent and friend Rich Paul being offended by Smith saying he wasn’t as good as Jordan, he did so with much more gusto, even mocking Paul’s reaction in his story. He then made a fascinating reveal about how that interaction began the downfall of their relationship.
Stephen A Smith GOES IN on LeBron James 👀
“In this generation, all of this b*tching and moaning about people being ‘sh*tted’ on has come into the forefront and the ring leader is LeBron James! In terms of creating that narrative… His agent, the boss of Klutch Sports, the one… pic.twitter.com/TPmvdrXahe
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 29, 2026
“In this generation, all of this bitching and moaning about people being ‘sh*tted on’ excuse my language, has come into the forefront and the ring leader is LeBron James in terms of creating that narrative,” Smith said.
“His agent, the boss of Klutch Sports, the one and only Rich Paul. I’m joking around with him acting up ‘yo man, you all act like damn, number 2 all time is an insult.’ Serious as a heart attack ‘it is an insult. It is an insult.’ The hell are you talking about? Ladies and gentlemen that’s the real reason that stuff went down with me and LeBron. I’m just going to keep it a buck with my audience,” Smith declared.
This is the major issue when it comes to Stephen A. Smith. It’s an example of First Take engaging with the lowest common denominator by jumping right to Jordan-LeBron for the eight millionth time instead of actually lifting up the incredible work of their ESPN colleague whose entire purpose of the interview was about asking LeBron questions that he had never asked him before.
But obviously that wasn’t interesting enough for SAS, because it wasn’t about himself. Because his most important thing is settling his own scores. It just never ends. Who else could take a seemingly benign quote from James and turn it into advancing his own personal vendetta against not just LeBron, but the entire current generation of NBA superstars? Who else could hold onto a quote from an agent and allow it to grow into a years-long public feud? That’s why Stephen A. Smith stands alone as the GOAT in his world of hot takes.
