After heated interaction with LeBron James, Stephen A. Smith also pushes back against Charles Barkley's fighting words: "We run from nothing"

Stephen A. Smith has found himself under fire after an intense conversation between him and Lakers forward LeBron James on the court of Crypto.com Arena was caught on camera. This transpired after the Lakers defeated the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

Smith explained the situation on Friday morning on his show, but also responded to criticism thrown his way by a former NBA legend.

Stephen A. Smith has been one of the faces at ESPN since being hired there more than 20 years ago, growing in popularity with sports fans around the world. He is the executive producer for "First Take," a debate show tackling topics all around sports.

Smith mentioned criticism from former NBA MVP Charles Barkley, who is a basketball Hall of Famer-turned-NBA analyst at TNT. Barkley's comments on Thursday night about the topics that ESPN covers turned heads.

"...y'all are idiots because you talk about the Warriors and the Lakers all the time," said Barkley on ESPN's choice of debate topics. "...that's the reason I get pissed."

On Friday's episode of "First Take," Stephen A. Smith took time to explain the conversation he had with LeBron James after the Lakers game, saying that it was about how sports media covers Bronny James.

Later in the show, Smith was asked about Barkley's comments on how the network approaches their coverage of the Lakers, Warriors and the staple GOAT conversation.

Smith pulled back the curtain on how his show operates and fought back against the claims that he only speaks about the same few topics repeatedly.

"We run from nothing," said Smith about how his shows are put together. "... the subjects we talk about are a potpourri of topics. We talk about all sports, but we also pay attention to what's resonating. That's why we're No. 1."

Stephen A. Smith is one of the busiest people in all of sports media, making appearances across multiple ESPN shows throughout the year. He shares his expertise on the NBA and WNBA while entertaining his millions of fans. However, Smith isn't immune to criticism that has grown louder as of late.

Stephen A. Smith has been under fire for how he and ESPN cover the NBA

LeBron James and Charles Barkley aren't the only ones unhappy with how the NBA is discussed and talked about. Stephen A. Smith has had to address claims that the sports media world takes a negative approach when covering the league.

Anthony Edwards made news when he refused the title of the next face of the NBA and was defended by LeBron because of the pressure that comes with.

The discussion about how experts talk about the basketball world has sparked introspective arguments, including one between former WNBA star and current ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike and Smith.

Ogwumike questioned why the excellent performances being put on by stars around the league were taking a backseat to negative stories.

At the end of the day, Smith said that it was all about which stories resonate with ESPN's audience and what they want to hear about when tuning in.

Smith has said many times throughout his career that he loves the NBA and the players in it, but as a journalist, he is inclined to deliver the most interesting news to his viewers.