LeBron James Says Stephen A. Smith 'Missed the Whole Point' of Discussion on Bronny

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James sounded off Wednesday regarding ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith's response to a confrontation between them earlier this month.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, James said Smith "completely missed the whole point" of why James admonished him during the Lakers vs. New York Knicks game in L.A. on March 6:

A video of LeBron having an animated conversation with Smith went viral, which led to Smith addressing it on First Take.

Smith said James' son and Lakers teammate, Bronny James, was the subject of the discussion, and that LeBron told him to "Stop f-ing with my son."

Smith also said at the time that he had no plans to address what happened between him and James, but he decided to do so once the video went viral.

LeBron challenged that notion Wednesday, saying Smith is on a "Taylor Swift tour run" with regard to the frequency with which he has discussed the incident and that Smith "couldn't wait" to talk about it.

James went on to explain that he didn't have an issue with Smith or anyone else criticizing players for their performance on the court.

However, he felt Smith's criticism of Bronny got "personal," and added, "It's my job to not only protect my damn household, but protect the players."

The Lakers selected Bronny with the No. 55 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft, and that naturally led to accusations of nepotism since LeBron is one of the greatest and most influential players of all time.

Back in January on First Take (h/t SI.com's Kyle Koster), Smith said he was "pleading" with LeBron to "stop this," and expressed his belief that "Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad."

Bronny, 20, has largely struggled in limited opportunities with the Lakers this season, averaging just 2.3 points in 5.9 minutes per game over 23 appearances.

With both LeBron and Luka Dončić out of the lineup on March 20, though, Bronny set a career high with 17 points.

Bronny has also thrived in the G League, averaging 21.9 points, 5.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per contest, which suggests there is more to him as a player than simply being the son of LeBron.

If Bronny continues to play at that level in the G League and translates it more often to the NBA level, it could go a long way toward shutting down narratives like the one from Smith that LeBron challenged.