Stephen A. Smith throws subtle shade at LeBron James while ranking his pairing with Luka Doncic among top 5 duos in NBA

Sports analyst Stephen A. Smith appeared to take a subtle shot at LeBron James in a recent episode of NBA on ESPN. During one segment, Smith revealed his top five duos in the league today, with the newly assembled tandem of LeBron James and Luka Doncic at No. 2.

While Stephen A. Smith acknowledged the LA Lakers duo for their recent success, he couldn’t resist making a veiled reference to his ongoing issue with LeBron.

"See how nice I am," Smith said after naming LeBron and Luka on his best duos list. "We know I got a lot of reasons not to have a lot of love for (LeBron James) right now."

James and Smith had a heated confrontation last Thursday following the Lakers’ game against the New York Knicks. LeBron approached Smith, warning him to be careful with his words when discussing his son, Bronny James.

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LeBron James tells Stephen A. Smith to keep his son's name out of his mouth

LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith got into a heated exchange last Thursday. after Smith, like many other analysts, was critical of Bronny James’ NBA future. Unfortunately for Smith, his comments caught the attention of Bronny’s father, leading to a viral confrontation.

No clear audio of the exchange was available, but Smith later clarified what was said.

"He was fiery," Smith said. "He approached me during the game and he said, 'Stop f***ing with my son. That's my son. Stop f***ing with my son.' I said, 'What?' (LeBron said) 'Nah, nah, nah, man. Straight up, man-to-man. Real talk, stop f***ing with my son."

"I saw how furious he was," Smith continued. "And I said we can talk about it later. (LeBron responded) 'Nah, f**k that. F**k that. Stop f***ing with my son. That's my son. That's my son.' I said, 'Alright, dog. Fine.' And he walked away. That's all he said."

Bronny James has had limited playing time with the LA Lakers this season, averaging only 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 18 games.