Stephen A. Calls Out LeBron James, Says Lakers Star 'Lies A Lot' After Pat McAfee Show

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith didn't wait long to offer a lengthy response to the newest remarks from Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James in their ongoing war of words.

Smith titled Wednesday's episode of his eponymous podcast "LeBron…the lies keep coming."

Midway through the show, he succinctly said that "LeBron James is full of it" and called the 21-time All-Star a "liar" for comments LeBron made Wednesday on The Pat McAfee Show.

"His ass lies a lot," Smith asserted.

Smith also noted he wasn't afraid to get physical with James, which he clarified on X:

This stems from sharp criticism Smith made in January about Bronny James continuing to see minutes with the Lakers despite struggling mightily on the court.

On March 6, Los Angeles earned a 113-109 overtime victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden with Smith in attendance. LeBron used the opportunity to confront the television personality directly, which turned this into the saga it is now.

The latest twist came Wednesday, with James showing up on a different ESPN show and effectively saying Smith is milking this for all it's worth. He said Smith is "on a Taylor Swift tour run right now." LeBron added he thought Smith crossed the line between regular criticism of a player's performance and a more personal attack.

James probably won't be happy to hear what Smith said Wednesday night.

Smith referenced the future Hall of Famer's penchant for being passive aggressive and went a step further.

"There's a lot of shady stuff that he does," he said of James. "And one of the things is this passive aggressiveness. And the two-facedness and smile in your face and dig you in behind the back. I happen to know that about him, which is why I don't like him, and he don't like me."

Smith also insinuated LeBron carefully orchestrated their on-court interaction, knowing the First Take star would be in attendance. He believes James chose to come over to him in between quarters rather than after the game so that he'd be unable to respond in the moment.

"My response would've been, 'You did this. This ain't me. Don't put this on me. Why the hell are you putting your son in this position knowing we got to cover him. If we don't cover him, we ain't doing our job. Why would you do that?'" Smith said.

"That's what I would've said to him. But he didn't want a response. He didn't want that, because LeBron wanted to give smoke. He didn't want to take any. ... Brother don't like smoke; he just likes to give it. Typical bully mentality."

In general, Smith wanted to make clear his initial point was less about Bronny and more to do with LeBron's role in his son winding up in Los Angeles. The 20-year-old guard was always going to be under the microscope because of his family name and landing on the Lakers probably didn't help.

Smith certainly isn't alone in questioning whether this was the optimal way for Bronny to start his NBA career.

Now, the story has expanded to become a pitched battle between the NBA's biggest name and the most visible talking head in sports media.

Especially after the episode Smith released, it's safe to say the last word hasn't been spoken.