Stephen A. Smith launches scathing attack at LeBron James amid his son Bronny James' struggles in NBA: "This is all LeBron’s fault"
Stephen A. Smith thinks LeBron James decided to take a break from social media because of the criticism Bronny James has received. Before signing off on X, formerly Twitter, the four-time MVP shared a post from Rich Kleiman about dealing with “negativity.”
Smith doesn’t believe the “national media” is to blame for the scrutiny the LA Lakers rookie has faced, particularly since entering the NBA.
In “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” the talk show host had this to say about the 20-year-old guard:
(2:05 mark)
“Bronny James doesn’t belong in the NBA. Not yet. Some people say never. I don’t believe that. I believe the kid has a chance but he’s not ready yet. We don’t have to scrutinize Bronny James in terms of points per game. Please, he’s a kid. He’ll come along, he’ll work on his game. Hopefully, he’ll earn his stripes.”
Most NBA insiders and some players believe Bronny might not have been drafted if not for LeBron. The younger James struggled in college, in the NBA summer league, in the preseason and in the G League. He has hardly played in the regular season, causing even non-basketball fans to criticize the youngster’s spot on the LA Lakers.
Smith’s scathing remarks were directed at the father for what Bronny is going through:
(2:41 mark)
“Respectfully, this is all LeBron’s fault. It was LeBron James that told the world I wanna play with him in the NBA. … Because he is LeBron James, he greased the skids and facilitated it happening.
"Most importantly, LeBron James was caught saying publicly that Bronny James is better than some players in the NBA. Do you think people were gonna forget that?”
Bronny’s struggles have been highlighted by some of LeBron’s tweets about his son. He once said that the former USC guard was better than some NBA players.
Stephen A. Smith says LeBron James should blame himself and not the social media for the negativity surrounding Bronny James
Stephen A. Smith blasted LeBron James for announcing he was stepping away from social media. The sports analyst said the 20x All-Star could have just walked away quietly.
Smith had this to say about James’ parting shot:
(6:01)
“Could you blame yourself? Because in the end, nobody is more guilty of making times hard for Bronny James the basketball player than LeBron James. That’s just a fact. There’s no way around it.”
The ESPN analyst added that Bronny should keep working on his game despite the unintended heat his father brought on him.