Overview
- Stephen A. Smith told listeners on The Stephen A. Smith Show Tuesday that he no longer 'hates' LeBron James and that, at 59, he wants to move past personal anger.
- Smith said he will continue to cover James as his career winds down and expressed a hope that James will win a championship for the Philadelphia 76ers.
- The change is unilateral: neither Smith nor LeBron has announced a mutual reconciliation and both men have continued to present competing accounts of the dispute.
- The feud traces to a March 2025 courtside confrontation that followed Smith’s public criticism of LeBron’s son, Bronny; Smith has accused LeBron of lying about their exchange and has said he would have defended himself if the encounter turned physical.
- Bronny’s selection at 55th overall in the 2024 draft and his limited playing time with the Lakers under JJ Redick helped spark the original criticism, and Smith’s shift could refocus media coverage toward LeBron’s late-career title chase rather than the personal dispute.