Stephen A. Smith Bizarrely Rips LeBron James for ‘Attention-Seeking’ Hennessey Ad

LeBron James has made Stephen A. Smith his loudest public enemy after confronting the ESPN analyst at a Lakers game.

Stephen A. Smith Bizarrely Rips LeBron James for ‘Attention-Seeking’ Hennessey Ad

LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith (Image via FirstSportz)

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Ever since LeBron James claimed to be the GOAT of the NBA, several people have turned to find fault in his game, as well as his character. Longtime Michael Jordan stans, Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith are at the head of the queue.

The former Undisputed host is an all-out rage-baiter. Most folks do not expect him to be anything but negative whenever talking about the all-time leading scorer.

Smith, on the other hand, was negative, but not to the extent of how his former colleague is. However, that changed this past season when the Los Angeles Lakers superstar confronted him publicly during a game.

Since his public image was at stake, Stephen A. Smith went on the attack, calling out the 4-time champion on every platform he could get on. To counter this, James went on the Pat McAfee Show, and ended up trolling the ESPN analyst on his very network.

That stunt then ticked off Smith, and since then, his words seem to suggest he is taking personal shots at the 40-year-old superstar. After James’ Hennessey Ad based Decision 2.0 left everyone in shambles, the analyst decided he had to say something.

I don’t understand why the second-greatest player who ever lived… would stoop to try to garner attention for himself with something other than trying to win a damn championship.

Stephen A. Smith said on First Take

The First Take host then went on to say that if the Los Angeles Lakers stutter in their quest for a championship, he will then question whether LeBron James was busy drinking Hennessey VSOP.

Stephen A. Smith goes OFF on LeBron James’ GOAT legacy

Stephen A. Smith kept it at the Lakers’ championship hopes and what LeBron James did with the Hennessey VSOP ad. A few hours later, he took to his podcast to then talk about the superstar’s GOAT legacy.

LeBron James before the 2025 All-Star game
LeBron James before the 2025 All-Star game (Image via Hoops Rumors/X)

He’s going to be 41. He’s in his 23rd year, stat padding his way to ignorant folks out there thinking that’s going to make him the GOAT over Jordan, not realizing that most of the stuff it took him to do in 20+ years Jordan did in 13.

Stephen A. Smith said

This rant was to get a leg over fans who believe that the father of three is the GOAT over Michael Jordan. These references are beyond the discussion about the ad, which shows Smith wants to critique the 4-time league MVP every opportunity he gets.

Even though it was clear that the Lakers star was teasing a possible commercial, the 57-year-old analyst saw this as an opportunity to lambast him. There was no conversation of his NBA career in that ad, but somehow Smith had to bring it up.

Former Lakers star claps back at Stephen A. Smith’s LeBron James rhetoric

These rants proved that Stephen A. Smith was still somewhere hurt after LeBron James publicly humiliated him. Former Lakers star Nick Young commented on one of the clips, clapping back at the ESPN analyst.

Get out your feelings brotha Smith yall mad at a joke ..snoop did the same thing with the fake he quit smoking ad.

Nick Young wrote on X

The NBA champion has a point here that when rapper Snoop Dogg brought out an ad claiming he quit smoking, it was for commercial reasons. But at the time, nobody including Smith did not utter a word. Rather, they enjoyed the creativity the rapper brought to the fore.

In LeBron James’ case, Young believes Smith’s ‘feelings’ are evident, as otherwise, he too would have taken this ad as entertainment. So did others who felt the analyst has been portraying his ‘hate’ for the Lakers star.

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