The Los Angeles Lakers recently edged past the New York Knicks, with LeBron James standing out as one of the best performers in that matchup. However, people aren’t talking about his impressive performance, where he scored 31 points. Instead, the attention was drawn to a heated confrontation between James and Stephen A. Smith happening on the sidelines. UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping weighed in on the incident, and he appeared to side with the 40-year-old NBA star.

Apparently, Stephen A. Smith has been very critical of LeBron and his son, Bronny James. In a leaked chat with his ex-Cavaliers teammate and Smith’s ESPN colleague, Richard Jefferson, the Lakers star revealed that he got riled up during the match against the Knicks because of something the 57-year-old veteran sports journalist said about his son that got under his skin. James appeared to reference the time when in January, Smith launched a rant on his son for failing to score against Philadelphia 76ers, missing all five field goal attempts.

“Keep my son out of this sh*t bro,” LeBron James told Smith. Well, what do you think Michael Bisping had to say here? The British MMA legend doesn’t see anything wrong with how the NBA star handled the situation. “Do you know what I say? I say fair play to f***ing LeBron James,” Bisping stated on his YouTube podcast. Thereafter, former UFC fighter Paul Felder, who was a guest on the show, seemed to agree with his fellow UFC veteran.

Claiming that LeBron James’s instincts as a father might have kicked in at that moment, Paul Felder said, “If he’s talking about your son, I mean, you’re a dad. You’re gonna feel a certain type of way. Going to kind of defend your own.”

Well, Stephen A. Smith would later address the situation, stating that he’d have appreciated if LeBron James would have called him for a private conversation instead of confronting him in front of the crow in the Crypto.com Arena. But other sources contradict his claims. Let’s take a look at that front.

Former ESPN reporter reveals ‘alleged’ details on LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith’s confrontation

Stephen A. Smith, on Friday, gave his side of the incident with LeBron James on ESPN’s First Take, claiming that the Lakers star was just looking out for his son. He didn’t seem to have issues with that part, but what he did take issue with was the fact that James didn’t care to ring him up. “I really understood where he was coming from. He was very, very upset. I could tell. But he could’ve called me. I’d have came to see him,” Smith claims.

However, Michelle Beadle, host of the Run It Back show, recently revealed that LeBron James, by all accounts, tried to have a private conversation with Stephen A. Smith but the latter didn’t respond. Hence, everything became a bit public. “Allegedly LeBron did try to reach out privately and that Stephen A. Smith did not do that and so I guess… he was there, here’s the moment, we’re doing it, everything’s just entertainment,” said Beadle.

Despite what Stephen A. Smith has to say about the whole confrontation, LeBron James appears to have the backing of a lot of people, given that he was only looking out for his son. But what do you think about his approach? Was James’s action warranted? Let us know in the comments down below.