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Leaked Audio Reveals LeBron James' Alleged Stephen A. Smith Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Mar 9, 2025 10:38 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James made headlines of late after his heated confrontation with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith went viral.

James was seen having an animated discussion with Smith during Thursday's game against the New York Knicks at Crypto.com Arena. Apparently, the NBA's all-time leading scorer confronted Smith about the former's son, Bronny James, who has been on the receiving end of some harsh criticism from the renowned sports broadcaster.

Smith himself opened up about the incident during his show, and he acknowledged that James was "furious" and that the Lakers star demanded that Smith "stop (expletive) with my son."

Damn LeBron stepped to Stephen A Smith pic.twitter.com/ZJIDcPU4dL
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) March 7, 2025

The Lakers were back in action on Saturday against the Boston Celtics and the four-time NBA champ was in a more jovial mood. Before tip-off at TD Garden, James caught up with former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Richard Jefferson, who now serves as an analyst for ESPN.

X accounts, such as LegendZ and Legion Hoops, assume the pair to have talked about James' recent run-in with Jefferson's colleague. The audio of their conversation has been leaked and it is currently making its rounds on social media.

It is important to note that the audio is not clear and that the transcript is unverified.

"That's the only thing tripping," James appears to have told Jefferson. "I don't give a (expletive)... Once he talks about, 'I'm pleading (to) you as a father,' I can't."

LEAKED Audio Of LeBron James Talking About The Stephen A Smith Confrontation:

“Once he talks about: ‘I’m pleading you as a father,’ I can’t” pic.twitter.com/RJhi7gxuSa
— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) March 10, 2025

It is possible that the last part of James' supposed comments above pertains to Smith's previous criticism of Bronny James. In January, after a tough loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Smith went off on both LeBron and Bronny James.

“I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this,” Smith said.

“We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad."

"I am pleading with LeBron James, as a father. Stop this." @stephenasmith reacts to Bronny James' play in the Lakers 118-104 loss to the 76ers. pic.twitter.com/bk5D0DS42N
— First Take (@FirstTake) January 29, 2025

LeBron James is currently set to miss a significant period for the Lakers after he was diagnosed with a groin strain , which he sustained during Saturday's 111-101 loss to the Boston Celtics. According to league insider Shams Charania, James is expected to miss 1 to 2 weeks because of this injury.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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