"LeBron and Savannah will go to war for their offspring": Fans react as Stephen A. Smith goes public on Lakers star's viral encounter

NBA fans reacted to Stephen A. Smith's admission that LeBron James pressed him for negative press coverage of Bronny James ahead of Thursday night's game between the LA Lakers and the New York Knicks. The video of their interaction went viral, forcing the ESPN analyst to address the situation in Friday's edition of "First Take."

"That wasn't a basketball player confronting me, that was a parent, that was a father, and I can't sit here and be angry or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way," he said.

After lamenting that James came up to him publicly, Smith added that he had nothing but good wishes for Bronny James. Fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their thoughts on the situation, with some even trolling Smith.

Many said Savannah James was pushing LeBron to take care of the issue.

"Bron and Savannah will go to war for their offspring. That much is certain," one fan said.

"Savannah probably kept nagging Bron telling him handle that or she will. . . Yall know how it go man 😂😂," another fan said.

"savannah probably been the only thing stopping him from doing this for months lmao — of all the variants…i woulda left LeFather alone if i were that man 🕊️," one said.

Others said the situation could have been worse if Savannah James ran into Stephen A. Smith while trying to explain why LeBron did this.

"You have to understand that confrontation was for the whole FAMILY. Bron has to go home and talk to the kids and Savannah and answer why they’re talking about Bronny like that. He stood up for his FAMILY. F**k what y’all talking about," one fan said.

A fan criticized LeBron James and Savannah for defending Bronny like he was a little kid.

"A grown a** man making his own checks. So I guess Bron and Savannah gone run to his rescue any time a sports analyst says anything ???? That’s weird," another fan said.

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Stephen A. Smith said he was criticizing LeBron James, not Bronny

Stephen A. Smith added that he wasn't attacking Bronny James with his remarks. Instead, he wasn't fond of LeBron James pushing for his kid to enter the NBA regardless of how his first and only season with the USC Trojans went. He recalled the time James said Bronny could join the Lakers and called him better than many NBA players.

"I was talking about you, meaning you, LeBron James, I have nothing but the best wishes for Bronny James. I wish him nothing but the best. I hope that he flourishes into an NBA star," Smith said.

This situation has taken a different level, but it remains to be seen if Smith keeps going after James after their sideline exchange.