October 21st News Today, A. Smith and Carmelo Anthony and others talked about James on the 7PM in Brooklyn show. A. Smith talked about his long-standing conflict with LeBron James on the show: "Let me talk about LeBron. I don't like him at all. You don't understand the extent to which this person can go to achieve certain goals - this dates back more than ten years. I think he is one way in public and another way in private. You may not see him being interviewed or directly quoted, but what he said to people and what he did eventually came to me. If everything was up to him, I would not be where I am today. This is really despicable and low. The day he walked up to me on the sidelines was the day the news of my contract extension with ESPN was announced. Look at the camera angle at the time - he arrived at the scene in the first quarter, but walked up to me in the third quarter. This is 2025, and technology is everywhere. No, that game was nationally televised on TNT, so why did we only have one camera? And that camera only showed his face from the front, not mine, only the back of my little head. I noticed this because I know, I often decide the camera angles myself - 'Use this angle, use that angle' - it's my job. You asked me if I felt like I was being 'set up'? Of course I did. Yes, I did. He obviously thought someone was there to help him - yes, that's how I felt. Okay, but it's no big deal. I still went on the show the next day - I said it was just a natural reaction from a father to his son. That happened on Thursday, and by Friday, Saturday Richard Jefferson was in Boston commentating the game (he also works for ESPN), and then we saw LeBron say to him: 'Man, When he said that was a father's reaction, I understood. 'I was like, 'This isn't about Bronny, is it? You're talking about yourself, right?' So let's talk about you as a father. From that perspective, he got drafted by the Lakers—congratulations to him, no problem. There was that father-son moment in the opening game, with Ken Griffey and his son there, and I was there—I stood and applauded, and everything was fine. So when did the problems start? It was when Bronny went to play in the G League, and the next day JJ Redick subbed him in the first quarter and had him guard Tyrese Maxey. You could almost feel someone drooling, waiting for the fight to start—that was Tyrese Maxey. That game was a nightmare. I was like, 'You can't do this to him, but you can't do this to us in the media either. And now you're asking us not to cover it. The game? The final straw for me wasn't him coming up to me on the sidelines. If you'd come out and said, 'LeBron's mad and he wants to talk to you,' and I was in New York—what would I have done? I'd have gotten on the next flight to Los Angeles. But you turn around and go on ESPN's Pat McAfee show, which airs right after mine, and 'throw me a wrench' at me on my channel? No way. And what exactly were you threshing me about? You're saying, 'I don't like him either?' Okay, fine. But then you throw in this 'I want to protect my family,' and you create a narrative like that. Man, I'm telling you, I've never been disrespected like that in my life. The way he tried to paint me as someone who would attack someone's family—knowing I've never done anything like that—infuriated me. I can't express how offensive that was to me."
October 21st: Today, A. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, and others discussed LeBron James on 7PM in Brooklyn.
A. Smith discussed his long-standing feud with LeBron James on the show: "Let me talk about LeBron. I don't like him at all. You have no idea how far this guy will go to achieve his goals—this goes back over a decade. I think he's one way in public and another way in private. You may not see him interviewed or quoted directly, but the things he says and does end up coming to me. If it were up to him, I wouldn't be where I am today. It's really despicable and low. He walked up to me on the sidelines the same day my contract extension with ESPN was announced. Look at the camera angles—he was there in the first quarter, but he didn't walk up to me until the third quarter. It's 2025, and technology is everywhere. The game was nationally televised on TNT, so why did we only have one camera? And that camera only showed his face, not mine, just the back of my head. I noticed this because I understand. I often make my own camera decisions—'Use this angle, use that angle!'—it's my job.
Did I feel like I was being set up? Absolutely. Yes, I did. He clearly thought someone was helping him—yes, that's how I felt. Okay, but it wasn't a big deal.
The next day I went on the show as usual—I said it was just a natural reaction from a father to his son. That was Thursday, and by Friday, Saturday, Richard Jefferson was in Boston (he also works for ESPN) calling the game, and we saw LeBron say to him, 'Man, when... When he said that was his father's reaction, I understood. I was like, 'This isn't about Bronny, is it? You're talking about yourself, right? Let's talk about you as a father.'
From that perspective, when he was drafted by the Lakers—congratulations to him, no problem. There was that father-son moment in the opening game, with Ken Griffey and his son there, and I was there—I stood and applauded, and everything was fine. When did the problem start? It was when Bronny went to play in the G League, and the next day JJ Redick subbed him in in the first quarter, putting him on Tyrese Maxey. You could almost feel someone drooling, waiting for the fight to start—that was Tyrese Maxey. That game was a nightmare.
I thought to myself: You can't do this to him, but you can't do this to us in the media either. And now you're asking us not to report it. Game?
The final straw for me wasn't him walking up to me on the sidelines. If you'd come out and said, 'LeBron's mad and wants to talk to you,' and I were in New York—what would I have done? I'd have gotten on the next flight to Los Angeles. But you turn around and go on ESPN's Pat McAfee show, which airs right after mine, and 'throw me a wrench' at me on my channel? No. And what exactly were you thrashing me about? You're saying, 'I don't like him either?' Okay, fine. But then you throw in the 'I want to protect my family,' and you create a narrative like that. Man, I'm telling you, I've never been disrespected like that in my life. The way he tried to portray me as someone who would attack someone's family—knowing I've never done anything like that—infuriated me. I can't express how deeply offensive that was to me.
