Stephen A Smith sick of ‘LeBron James sensitivity’ after Lakers star’s circle send texts over Bronny James rant
Stephen A Smith claims that LeBron James inner circle contacted him following his fiery rant about Bronny James' performance on Tuesday.
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Stephen A Smith calls out LeBron James after going on Bronny James rant
The pressure on Bronny James at the moment is unfathomable. The 21-year-old rookie has been under fire this week from all across the sports world after being inserted back into the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation in their loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. At the forefront of this criticism has been ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, although LeBron James has seemingly taken affront to it.
On his The Stephen A Smith Show, Smith addressed the heavy criticism he had levied on Bronny James after his dismaying performance against the Sixers on Tuesday. Smith claimed that members from within LeBron James’ inner circle had reached out to him following his rant about him needing to take charge and stop Bronny James from ’embarassing’ himself by playing for the Lakers.
A couple of people texted me and pissed me off and they know who they are. People close to LeBron James, talking to me about questioning him as a father, come on y’all – I mean it’s got to a point where this LeBron sensitivity is just beyond the pale… It’s ridiculous but never before has it been more ridiculous than it is right now. Because the reality is that we got to be real about what we’re seeing when we talk about Bronny James.
Smith said on his show
Smith clearly believes that Bronny James is not an NBA-ready prospect at the moment, and putting him out for the wolves (or in this case Sixers) to feed on has been a terrible strategy by both his father LeBron James and the Lakers coaching staff led by rookie HC JJ Redick. Although Bronny James has clearly seen success in the G-League, that has never been a reliable barometer to translate to the NBA.
As Stephen A Smith said, LeBron James being hurt over this sentiment is clearly the wrong path for the future of his son. While he may be harsh in his criticism, he certainly isn’t wrong in decreeing that the 55th pick in this season’s draft needs a ton more reps before being a serviceable player for the Lakers.
JJ Redick admits error in playing Bronny James on Tuesday despite LeBron James’ defense
Tuesday night seemed like the perfect night for Bronny James to make his return to the Los Angeles Lakers’ rotation after spending much of his rookie season in the G-League with the South Bay Lakers. After a number of commendable performances with South Bay, it seemed like the right move to get him some playing time against the struggling Sixers, who were without Paul George and Joel Embiid.
Following the game, Lakers HC JJ Redick expressed his disappointment with the play of Bronny James and his own decision to play the rookie.
I maybe put him in a tough spot flying out yesterday, nationally televised game, Philly, all that stuff. He didn’t play well but he’s been playing great in the stay-ready games and he’s been playing great in the G. I have confidence in him. But obviously didn’t provide that at a high level.
JJ Redick postgame
JJ: "You're not going to win a game if somebody takes 19 more shots than you and gets 8 more offensive rebounds." pic.twitter.com/Mpqd9p994i
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 29, 2025
Redick’s decision to bring in Bronny James in the first quarter would soon backfire for him and the rookie. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey took a liking to James on the perimeter and proceeded to score a few buckets on the USC guard early. As the pressure mounted, Bronny James’ struggles would only continue, as he would finish the game scoreless, going 0-5 from the field with three turnovers.
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Armaan Gupta
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