The Lakers vs Knicks on Thursday night were one for the ages. LeBron James came clutch in the final quarter. Gabe Vincent finally broke free of his shooting shackles and sank consecutive 3s. Luka Doncic was far from his shooting best but still dropped 32 points on the Knicks. There were a lot of stories that should’ve taken center stage following the classic on Crypto.com Arena. But everything felt secondary after LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith’s courtside confrontation. The internet blew off after the sudden moment between the two, leaving everyone speculating on what went down there. Ending all the speculation, Stephen A finally broke the silence on the incident, indicating it was he who was hurt in the aftermath.

“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly, I might add, to confront me about making sure that I mind what I say about his son,” the ESPN star told on First Take. SAS also added that he completely understood the reaction from LeBron. After all, that’s what fathers do — protect their kids from harm’s way. “I’m not blaming him one bit I get it. I understand it and there’s a part of me that hurts because of it,” Stephen A told Molly Qerim earlier today.

SAS didn’t have his patent energy during the show or during the intense moment with 6’8 LeBron. But this was a culmination of a season-long media campaign against Bronny James due to him being the son of the great one. Back in January, Stephen A. Smith blamed LeBron for all the criticism Bronny was getting. “I am pleading with LeBron James as a father. Stop this. Stop this. We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad,” the veteran analyst remarked.

Now it finally blew up in his face with a cold warning from LeBron. Not only the Bronny James issue, the two have been going at it, especially SAS, over the past few weeks. We’ve seen former teammates bashing LeBron on live TV and Stephen A is one of the most vocal when it comes to criticizing. But he and Bron have a relationship far from that.

Stephen A Smith confirms his relationship with LeBron James

The last 24 hours have been eventful for Stephen A Smith. First came his multi-year $100 million deal with ESPN. Then he and his colleagues were under fire from Charles Barkley. And then the LeBron James confrontation. After all of it, when the nerves settled, the ESPN veteran finally confirmed how it actually is between him and the four-time NBA champ.

“He and I don’t necessarily vibe, we keep it moving. Neither of us lose sleep over it, and it’s been that way for years,” SAS confirmed on the show. Interestingly, Shannon Sharpe wasn’t present during the segment or there could’ve been more layers worth adding. Explaining his perspective on calling things as they are as an analyst, Stephen A continued, “He could’ve called me. I’d have come to see him, and I’d have had a conversation with him. He could’ve been just as upset face-to-face, man-to-man as opposed to being courtside at the game.”

Since the All-Star game absence, LeBron has been under heavy media scrutiny, led by Stephen A. Even LeBron’s recent comments, calling out the NBA media for “s——-“ on the game was taken personally by Smith. Today, he again reiterated that he has no animosity towards James, but is simply doing his job of speaking on the current stories in the league. So, despite LeBron’s hands-off warning, it is hard to imagine Stephen A Smith will stop commenting on Bronny anytime soon.