thelesterlee
For too long, we have allowed LeBron James to go about his career without any real criticism, examination or pushback.
He’s been untouchable from his first steps onto an NBA court—never questioned or faulted for any mistakes he’s made.
The media, as well as the fans, all treat LeBron like an untouchable diety—fearing internal damnation if they dare challenge his decisions.
Remember when he hosted a live free agency special to announce he was leaving Cleveland, bringing his talents to “South Beach”?
I know I’ll never forget the universal praise he got. Fans across the state of Ohio were celebrating with backyard bonfires.
Not one single person stepped up as LeBron left Cleveland championship-less, to go team up with other superstars, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Michael Jordan would never do something like that, yet no one batted an eye to call LeBron out on this.
Actually, now that I think of it, I might be the first person to ever even compare LeBron and Michael Jordan. Up until this moment, everyone across the board all anointed LeBron the GOAT from day.
We live in such a divided time in this nation—split by political differences and encouraged by our tech overlords to spend our free time arguing with strangers on their social media platforms and yet—despite the vitriol and cruelty and racism online—LeBron has remained unscathed, beloved by both liberals and conservatives alike.
Fox News host, Laura Ingram, once told LeBron James to “Shut up and dribble”—words of encouragement meant to motivate LeBron to block out all the outside noise and focus on what he loves most: the game of basketball.
Or at least that’s how I interpreted it.
And finally, after 20+ years of glazing, a hero finally emerged—willing to step up and tell it like he sees it.
Enter Stephen A. Smith—our last great sports journalist—willing to go where others deem out of bounds.
Willing to challenge the status quo and most importantly, willing to spend hours of his time mocking LeBron James’s son, Bronny.
Last summer, LeBron James walked into the Lakers front office, placed a loaded handgun on the table and said “You’re drafting my son in the 2nd round or else your families will be planning funerals“—forcing the Lakers to use the 55th pick on Bronny James—a player who didn’t contribute much in college.
You could make the argument the second-round draft pick doesn’t matter—especially after the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic—immediately propelling them to the top of the Western Conference standings—but I can’t help but wonder how much better this team would be if they selected someone more qualified, like Ulrich Chomche, the 57th pick to the Grizzlies—who has 5 total points this season.
Lakers could’ve used those 5 points is all I’m saying.
But we must walk on eggshells, never to speak of LeBron in a negative light or highlight his son’s struggles in the NBA.
Thankfully, Stephen A. Smith had the courage to call LeBron on his nonsense.
Here he is—standing up to LeBron and his sensitivity—while playing lowlights of his son’s failures for some reason:
He was talking about Bron but was showing Bronny low lights vs the sixers but it’s not personal foh glad he pressed that clown pic.twitter.com/f2Je34sOt5
— 🐐🐐GOATS (@KINGGOATGOAT) March 7, 2025
Now look at what this diva, LeBron, did when he saw Stephen A., the truth-teller, in his line of sight:
Damn LeBron stepped to Stephen A Smith👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/ZJIDcPU4dL
— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) March 7, 2025
Disgusting thug behavior but to be expected when it comes to LeBron.
Stephen A. Smith doesn’t deserve this type of treatment.
What exactly did he even do wrong?
His job is to talk about the NBA and criticize players when they underperform.
I, in no way, believe it is out of bounds to put a magnifying glass on the struggles of a 20-year-old who was picked 4th to last in the draft.
Once you get into the league, you are fair game to be criticized.
I can’t find any clips of Stephen A. making fun of Kevin McCullar Jr or Cam Spencer or Anton Watson or Melvin Ajinca or any of the other kids taken at the end of the draft—but knowing Stephen A. and his thorough, hard-hitting analysis—I’m sure there are hours upon hours of him, laser pointer in hand, breaking down the Tristen Newton G-League tape.
LeBron James simply cannot handle being under scrutiny for the first time in his life.
Two decades of coddling and praise and undying loyalty and the second someone uses his son’s poor performance in brief flashes of garbage time at the ends of meaningless games as an indictment of who LeBron is as a father and a man—suddenly, the real LeBron shows up and resorts to shouting like a baby.
I’m just glad Stephen A. Smith is here to show us what real, actual journalism looks like.
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