When Pat McAfee announced that LeBron James was going to be the next guest on his ESPN show, the hoop community was left buzzing. Everyone was certain that the Lakers star would address the Stephen A. Smith controversy. And he didn’t disappoint. In a segment that has since gone viral, LeBron fired several shots at the ESPN veteran, starting with, “He’s like on a Taylor Swift tour run right now.” Referring to Stephen A.’s constant media appearances discussing the on-court confrontation with the four-time champ.

Of course, people also speculated a tarnished relationship between Smith and McAfee because the former NFL star called LeBron on his show, hinting at his allegiance to the ongoing beef. However, Stephen A. claims he has no bad blood for McAfee despite his latest move.

Addressing LBJ’s appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Smith said on his podcast, “Major major props to Pat McAfee for getting that interview. There’s a lot of people that’s been texting me—‘He’s a teammate. He’s on ESPN. Why would he do that?’—Please y’all, be quiet. Pat McAfee did nothing wrong. Pat McAfee did his job.”

Although McAfee and Smith work on the same network, no one would give up an opportunity to interview a superstar like LeBron. Had he offered to appear on First Take, Stephen A. would likely have pounced at that chance despite their beef.

So, the ESPN analyst understands why Pat did it, “You have an opportunity to get LeBron James, you take it. I don’t give a damn who you are. This is one of the greatest players in the history of basketball. You get him. I didn’t think that Pat McAfee disrespected me or did me wrong in any way. He did his job and I got no problems with it.”

After Smith made his stance clear and shut down the beef rumors with McAfee, his focus shifted straight to King James.

Stephen A. Smith calls LeBron James a “Liar” and claims he would have “Swung on him”

Well, LeBron did not hold back while talking about his confrontation with Smith on McAfee’s show. He even shut down the notion that Stephen A. only began talking about the incident because the video of it went viral, “Motherf—–, are you kidding me? If there’s one person that couldn’t wait for the video to drop so you could address it is your a–.” Then, the Lakers star stated, “He completely like missed the whole point. The whole point.”

LeBron said while he had no issues with media criticizing the players for their performance on the court, its when things go personal that he feels the need to intervene, “When you take it and you get personal with it, it’s my job to not only protect my damn household but protect the players.” Adding insult to injury, he said about Stephen A., “He’s gonna be smiling from ear to ear when he hears me talking about him again.”

Well, Smith was definitely not smiling on his show and put some serious accusations on James, “My issue is with LeBron James. I want to say for the record, LeBron James is full of it. And in this particular instance as it pertains to his son, he is a liar.”

Yep, the ESPN veteran didn’t hold back, straight-up accusing LeBron of lying on Pat’s show. But he didn’t stop there—he even addressed what he would have done if things had gotten even the slightest bit physical during their LA confrontation.

“You want this to be a reincarnation of Chris Rock and Will Smith?” he quipped. Then came the real punchline: “I would have gotten my a– kicked because if that man put his hands on me, I would have immediately swung on him. That I’m not gonna tolerate.”

Yeah, that’s got to be a bit of an exaggeration from Smith. I mean, LeBron throwing hands? That’s just not him. Not only would it be completely out of character, but it would also tank his reputation and potentially hit his wallet with a massive fine.

And let’s be real—the viral clip that everyone’s talking about? It showed nothing close to a physical altercation. Just a quick, heated exchange, and that was it. Smith might be adding a little extra spice to the story, but the footage tells a different tale.

Surely, the LeBron James—Stephen A. Smith beef is far from over and the world is eager to see who fires the next shot. Whose side are you on?