Stephen A. Smith continues descending to new lows in the middle of his feud with LeBron James. After milking his rivalry with James for all the attention he can, Smith kept fan interest alive in this tiff by crossing the line with some of his comments about LeBron on First Take yesterday. Chief among them was the audacious lie that LeBron chose to skip Kobe Bryant's memorial in 2020.

Fans instantly knew Smith was talking nonsense, as James was reported to have attended the memorial but had requested to not be shown on camera. Smith admitted he lied about LeBron and Kobe, but claims he won't retract anything else.

"Today, when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial. I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It was not my main point. I retract NOTHING else that I said. Have a nice day!"

My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of @FirstTake today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial. I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance. My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It…

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 27, 2025

Smith's full segment on LeBron was pretty vile, as a bunch of media personalities ganged up on an athlete to attack him for everything that wasn't basketball-related. If you didn't know, LeBron scored a buzzer-beater game-winner last night, but the folks at First Take would have to watch basketball games to know about something like that.

During the segment. Smith didn't just say LeBron didn't attend Kobe's memorial, but he also hinted at there being some hidden reason for James' not being present. Smith said he wouldn't reveal the real reason by implying it's something negative, just for him to lie about James not attending and retracting the statement.

No media member can have the kind of relationship with a player that another player has. Players might know Smith, but it's clear modern players don't really trust or respect him, given his recent feuds with the likes of Kevin Durant as well. 

The attention it brings to Smith and ESPN when he boldly fights with modern-day NBA legends is far too intoxicating for the content to improve, so this might just be the future of ESPN programming, especially First Take.

Even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver seems upset about how this feud has been playing out, publicly admonishing the same while unveiling the NBA's latest collaboration with the FIBA for a potential European league. 

"My phone was in front of me, and I received several texts that said 'Are you watching this?' And I said, 'What's this?' And they said Stephen A., so I understand, and I saw some of the headlines that came out of this."

Silver openly shared his dislike for how modern media covers the NBA.

"Sometimes, it's wonderful to see so much interest in our sport, but at other times, I cringe at the coverage. When it becomes very personal between a media member and a player, it's not something I want to see. But we'd like the focus to stay on their play on the floor. When it becomes very personal between a media member and a player, it's not something I want to see."

This situation between Smith and Bron is bound to get much worse before it improves. It's clear Smith will cross most lines if it brings him enough attention, so it'll be interesting to see what he has to say next.