Who is the first NBA player that comes to mind when you hear the word ‘professionalism’? For many, the answer would be LeBron James. For 22 years, he has been the face of the league and carried the tag with great honor. However, his recent act raised major doubts in Isiah Thomas’ mind. Prior to Friday’s Rockets clash, LeBron was seen warming up shirtless in the Crypto.com Arena. And the Hall of Famer did not like it one bit.

“I just totally 100% object to this. If I was the GM or coach, I would never let one of my players walk out on the floor looking like this. I mean, we are professional NBA league. We ain’t Summer League. We ain’t at the YMCA.” Thomas said on Live TV, infuriated by LBJ’s pregame appearance. Further pointing fingers at the Lakers star’s professionalism, the Pistons legend added, “I just think the professionalism in our NBA league has diminished so much. Look, I like LeBron, I’m a fan of his, so forth and so on, but to walk out on the floor before a game, with no shirt on, and shoot, I mean, come on, man? Where we at? What we doing? Where we at?”

As expected, Thomas’ comments garnered a polarizing reaction from the hoop community. And considering Stephen A. Smith’s recent public feud with LeBron, many believed he would pick the Hall of Famer’s side. But the ESPN analyst shocked everyone with his comments on the issue. “Contrary to what some of you trolls out there wanna instigate and fabricate and start up when it’s talking about Stephen A. Smith and LeBron, I told y’all I’m gonna always be fair. I’m going to do my job regardless of how we feel about each other. I’m going to do my job.” He said on The Stephen A. Smith Show, calling out the critics who constantly bid him against LeBron.

Yes, Smith didn’t let his personal issues with LBJ affect his professional opinion on the matter. In a surprising turn of events, he praised the four-time champ, “LeBron James is not the greatest example to use because 99% of the time, the brother epitomizes professionalism. LeBron James is usually dressed up. LeBron James carries the mantle and conducts himself with the proper level of decorum and professionalism. Media interviews, post games, availability, stuff like that. LeBron James shows up. Big events, representing the NBA brand, Its LeBron James you lean on. So, to mention the word unprofessionalism and him with a broad brush would be incredibly unfair.” Although the analyst made his stance clear on LeBron’s professionalism, he also understood where IT was coming from.

Stephen A. Smith claims Isiah Thomas is “100% right” amid LeBron James’ cryptic response to controversial take

Well, Stephen A. clearly had no doubts about James’ professionalism. After all, the four-time champ has stayed away from any major controversy despite being in the public limelight since he was a teenager. However, in this particular instance about him practicing shirtless, the analyst was on Isiah’s side, “Isiah Thomas is 100% right.”

Further detailing the reason, he said, “If you’re isolating an incident which Isiah Thomas did, then its more than fair. And the reason why it’s more than fair is because you’re thinking about what’s going on in the moment. You’re a man out there with no uniform, no T-shirt on in a professional environment. You’re not in a closed-door practice. You’re out at the arena where fans have already been allowed to enter the arena. It is a professional environment.”

Moreover, Stephen A. reminded his viewers that Thomas was once the President of the Players Association. So, it’s natural for him to ensure that the players maintain a certain standard.

Stephen A. understood both sides of the coin in this controversy. Meanwhile, LeBron was not too interested in responding to Thomas’ comments. However, he did get the final word with a cryptic tweet hidden between the praise for his head coach, “Man I was going to say something but it’s useless at this point in my career! Anyways more important CONGRATULATIONS JJ on a 50 win season in the WEST & Post Season nod!” Highly likely that the tweet was targeted at the Pistons legend.

Well, LeBron has been the gold standard of professionalism throughout his career. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that he never cheats the game. Do you think him working out shirtless was unprofessional or did Thomas’ comments spark unnecessary controversy?