After the pair made headlines in early 2025 for their heated exchange on the sideline of an NBA game, Smith opened up about the situation on his podcast and an episode of ESPN’s “First Take.” Since then, LeBron James has shared his side, which Smith replied to, calling the NBA legend out for being in his feelings. However, he didn’t stop there. Smith also said he would’ve gotten physical with James if the latter had put his hands on him.

After causing quite a stir in the basketball world, James finally addressed his confrontation with Smith on an episode of “The Pat McAfee Show.”

While discussing the situation, James blasted the sports commentator for being on a “Taylor Swift tour run right now,” referring to Smith’s many conversations about their blowup.

“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,'” James said.

He continued: “Are you kidding me? If there was one person [who] couldn’t wait for the video to drop, it was your -ss. Like seriously?”

Smith didn’t waste time replying to the NBA champion’s comments about him. During a passionate rant on the latest episode of his podcast, “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” the analyst declared he would’ve “swung” on James had the star gotten physical with him during their conversation.

“When he approached me sitting courtside at that game against the New York Knicks when he rolled up on me… I didn’t know he was gonna roll up on me,” Smith said into the camera. He then explained that he couldn’t respond the way he wanted to because he was in public.

“It was during the third quarter, it was fresh out of a timeout, it was him walking to the basketball court. It was on national television, the cameras were rolling, and had I done something, what do y’all want me to do? You want this to be a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?” he asked.

Smith continued, “And let me state for the record while we bring up that, let me assure you it wouldn’t have gone down like that. I would have gotten my -ss kicked because if that man put his hands on me, I would’ve immediately swung on him. Immediately. That I’m not going to tolerate.”

On Instagram, James clapped back at Smith’s comments about swinging on him with a shady video of the latter doing pad work with boxing gloves on. The video is short; however, it shows Smith clearly throwing a few uppercuts, which James doesn’t seem threatened by.

James captioned the video with several laughing face emojis before saying, “WHOMP WHOMP WHOMPPPPPPP.”

Smith and James have been involved in an explosive feud since the beginning of March 2025.

In a video that went viral online, viewers could see James and Smith having an emotional conversation during a Lakers game over things the latter said about James’ son, Bronny James.

“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this,” Smith said during an episode of “First Take,” referring to Bronny’s underwhelming performance in the NBA. He continued, “We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad.”

Smith blasted the father-and-son duo before seemingly questioning LeBron’s motives as a parent.

“How are you doing him favors? We know that he’s not ready yet. And I’m saying this with compassion,” he said. “You know what it’s going to do to your son, to people that are missing out on opportunities, that are busting their tail on other NBA teams and the G League and Europe and everywhere else, what kind of opportunity they are starving for? You’re exposing your son like this.”

The James’ head coach, JJ Redick, commented on the negativity surrounding his two players during an interview with ESPN.

Despite the younger James receiving what some would call unfair criticism, Redick, who spent several years in the league with teams like the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, praised the 20-year-old for handling the drama with grace.

“I’ve just been impressed with the person that he is,” Redick said. “And to deal with … frankly, bullsh-t because of who his dad is and just keep a level head about it and be a class act says a lot about him, says a lot about that family.”