"LeBron James pissed me off" - Charles Barkley likens Lakers star to Al Pacino for 'bullying' Stephen A. Smith & Brian Windhorst

The ongoing back-and-forth between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith reached new heights on Wednesday when James appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show," a program that directly competes with Smith's "First Take" on ESPN.

While many members of the NBA community have aimed at Smith for crossing lines by criticizing James as a father and attempting to use Kobe and Gianna Bryant's celebration of life against James, who didn't want to be on-camera during the ceremony, Charles Barkley disagrees.

On Friday's episode of "The Dan Patrick Show," Barkley shared his thoughts on the situation, saying that although he has always liked James, he thinks the four-time NBA champion has turned into a "bully," comparing his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" to Al Pacino in "The Godfather" after he took out his opposition.

Barkley didn't let Smith off the hook either, saying that his response didn't sit well with him.

"They both had an awful week. LeBron, he's too big to be that type of bully, to bully Stephen A. and to bully Brian Windhorst," Barkley said. " ... And I've always liked LeBron, but him being a bully, it turned me off. But I will say this: Stephen A., the way he reacted was so lame and weak. ... The way Stephen A. reacted, going on his podcast, talking tough, come on, man, you're better than that.

" ... You know what LeBron reminded me of? You know 'The Godfather' (when) Al Pacino left the funeral he says, 'We killed everybody today, we settled the family business.'"

"There are only losers," - Charles Barkley thinks LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith are coming out of this week's exchange as losers

The beef between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith has continued to evolve. While Smith took his first shot at James as a father months ago, their courtside confrontation in New York only escalated the situation.

Smith responded on "First Take" and "The Stephen A. Smith Show," leading to James' appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." He spoke about the situation briefly while covering a wide range of topics.

Smith addressed the situation again on both his shows, accusing James of skipping Kobe and Gianna Bryant's celebration of life.

Additionally, Smith questioned why James wasn't in attendance at Dwyane Wade's Hall of Fame ceremony; however, as others pointed out, the James family was still reeling from Bronny's cardiac arrest.

Following Smith's on-air comments, James posted a clip on Instagram of Smith's boxing technique, poking fun at him.

"WHOMP WHOMP WHOMPPPPPPPP," James captioned on Wednesday.

The way Charles Barkley sees things, they are both coming out of the back-and-forth on the losing end.

"So there are only losers in this scenario, and what bothers me the most is they’re both good dudes," Barkley said on Friday, via 'The Dan Patrick Show.' " ... LeBron started it, and Stephen A., I’m not sure what he was trying to do. ... He just made it worse and worse and worse."

Whether the beef continues, only time will tell.