STEPHEN A. Smith gave a strong verdict on his relationship with LeBron James.
The ESPN analyst was confronted by the NBA icon on the court at a Los Angeles Lakers game earlier this year.
Stephen A. Smith spoke out on his relationship with LeBron James[/caption]
The incident was the biggest flash point in their long-running feud.
And Smith was once again asked about his opinion on James in an interview with Rolling Stone’s Danyel Smith.
“And so I’m not gonna cover the Lakers?” Stephen A. said to the show host.
“I’m not gonna talk about James now? What sense does that make?
“I have to cover the sport. He’s a big part of the sport, which means I have to cover him, no matter what.”
But he refused to be drawn into more details on the moment James confronted him on court.
“What is going on with you and LeBron James?” he was asked.
But the First Take star said, “I have nothing to say about that.
“I don’t like him, and he don’t like me.
“He’s one of the greatest players who’s ever lived.
“I’m going to show him that respect, and I’m going to cover him objectively.
“When he does great, I’m gonna applaud.
“When he doesn’t do great, I’m not gonna applaud.”
Smith spoke on his podcast earlier this year specifically about the confrontation on court.
He said the moment was about LeBron’s son Bronny James, who also plays for the Lakers.
Smith added, “He hid behind his son, tried to make something out of nothing, as if I was dogging his son, which I was not.
“The real issue was we don’t like each other.
“And he used that as an excuse to confront me. I got it.”
Smith went viral last week after being spotted playing solitaire on his phone during the NBA Finals.
The clip was taken during Game 4 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
And it showed Smith sat in the stands with the card game on his phone.
