LeBron vs Stephen A

[Mamba Mentality]

SAS just went on First Take and missed the point again.

Last 24 hours have been a massive W for Lebron. Going on Pat McAfee and showing his unfiltered side was as a success, then he hits the gamewinner against the Pacers, and to cap it all off he dunks on SAS.

[BodieB]

Seems like LeBron has been studying the moves of Mr. Kendrick Lamar this past year.

[BlzMwt]

The fact that this is a thread and we don't talk about things like what the Toronto Raptors are doing, or if the Jayson Tatum injury has any effect on Boston's chance to repeat is why Stephen A Smith makes $20 million a year

Stephen A Smith makes $20 million a year because he hasn't been held to any standards as a journalist for years.

LeBron is much bigger figure with much bigger fanbase, so him going at SAS is a move def worthy of attention. Obviously, LeBron is doing that mostly for personal reasons, but NBA coverage objectively needs healing and LeBron clowning SAS is a joy to witness. Based on reactions on X, people are mostly siding with LeBron in his recent tirade, so maybe that's the first step to do it.

I have similar feelings where I hope that this could be a door being pushed open to better NBA coverage.

If other players see LeBron stepping up and pushing back, it could set a precedent.

Beyond the initial peak in views from the drama, I hope that analysts like SAS having their reputation take a hit will make media outlets question giving them large contracts and/as much airtime.

Then maybe we can get more coverage like the LeBron/JJ podcast.

[uncleoswald]

anyone else think the swearing sounded way forced coming from lebron?

he is so uncool. which is fine, duncan was uncool too. but the guy has always wanted to be cool, unlike duncan.

it hurts to watch sometimes, like with this interview.

[Quattro]

This league is becoming more like pro wrestling by the day.

[levon]

anyone else think the swearing sounded way forced coming from lebron?

he is so uncool. which is fine, duncan was uncool too. but the guy has always wanted to be cool, unlike duncan.

it hurts to watch sometimes, like with this interview.

Show me a cool 40 year old billionaire.

[Jta444]

This league is becoming more like pro wrestling by the day.

Crazy how Lebron their cash cow is gifted a generational superstar every 5 years to keep him relevant. So obvious they cater to him. The league made a mistake though because without marketing and helping other stars get championships what will happen once Lebron and Curry retire who’s gonna carry the league?

Especially now with caps set up it would be hard to create dynasties around superstars - it would result in more parity and every year different champion. It would be the 70’s all over again. Casual fans wont get excited about that. Fans want dominant teams like showtime lakers, 6peat bulls, 3peat lakers and warriors.

Lebron influenced that decision to have salary caps so Luka and Wembenyama and any other future star cant create superteams like he did and so won’t catch him up in championships and make him irrelevant.

[uncleoswald]

anyone else think the swearing sounded way forced coming from lebron?

he is so uncool. which is fine, duncan was uncool too. but the guy has always wanted to be cool, unlike duncan.

it hurts to watch sometimes, like with this interview.

Show me a cool 40 year old billionaire.

what does age and financial status matter in how cool someone is? lebron has always been uncool.

[levon]

anyone else think the swearing sounded way forced coming from lebron?

he is so uncool. which is fine, duncan was uncool too. but the guy has always wanted to be cool, unlike duncan.

it hurts to watch sometimes, like with this interview.

Show me a cool 40 year old billionaire.

what does age and financial status matter in how cool someone is? lebron has always been uncool.

Your first sentence makes me less confident in your ability to recognize who's cool, but to each their own. My point is he's a billionaire dad and that's not exactly a cool demographic. Will Smith was cool once too.

[uncleoswald]

Show me a cool 40 year old billionaire.

what does age and financial status matter in how cool someone is? lebron has always been uncool.

Your first sentence makes me less confident in your ability to recognize who's cool, but to each their own. My point is he's a billionaire dad and that's not exactly a cool demographic. Will Smith was cool once too.

will smith is a good analogue for lebron. he's also a huge jerk who gets laughed at behind his back by most people.

MJ was pretty cool at a similar age. mariah carey wore a jersey dress at the ASG in his honor. think rihanna will do that for lebron?

[LeBronSpaghetti]

Lol remember when Joe Rogan roasted Stephen A over that punching video

[JMAC3]

Real question. Is anyone here an actual fan of Stephen A Smith? If Espn moved on from him and he wasn't on TV for the next three years would you miss his content? If he left and tried to start his own media company like a Barstool or Ringer would you follow his content if he wasn't on ESPN?

I am genuinely curious here.

[TheGeneral99]

Don't worry guys, Stephen A is now entering the political sphere and will run for President, lol.

[levon]

what does age and financial status matter in how cool someone is? lebron has always been uncool.

Your first sentence makes me less confident in your ability to recognize who's cool, but to each their own. My point is he's a billionaire dad and that's not exactly a cool demographic. Will Smith was cool once too.

will smith is a good analogue for lebron. he's also a huge jerk who gets laughed at behind his back by most people.

MJ was pretty cool at a similar age. mariah carey wore a jersey dress at the ASG in his honor. think rihanna will do that for lebron?

I don't know, keep us updated.

[Blacksheep25]

I mean I’d kick SAS’s ass and I’m only a few years younger. LeBron would throw me into the 4th row. As a man close to SAS’s age, talking tough is unbecoming and delusional all rolled into one. I’m stronger than most 25 year olds at my gym and I still don’t think I’d want to tangle with many of them. Too much **** hurts just waking up let alone getting body slammed by a 6’9 280lb freak of nature. You sound laughable suggesting it.

[jokeboy86]

SAS just went on First Take and missed the point again.

Last 24 hours have been a massive W for Lebron. Going on Pat McAfee and showing his unfiltered side was as a success, then he hits the gamewinner against the Pacers, and to cap it all off he dunks on SAS.

SAS can dish it but he sure cant take it at all. It always gets to him when someone downplays his importance because his ego cant handle it. He's getting madder nowadays because the previous generation of athletes like Kobe and Jordan at least acknowledged him whereas today's athletes have no regard for him whatsoever. He's apparently now the top paid personality on ESPN and yet it was Pat McAfee who got the biggest athlete in the country to sit down for an interview. I'm sure he's also livid at McAfee and some of ESPN higher ups that they allowed Lebron to basically s*** on him on ESPN.

Again the one saving grace about Skip Bayless and Mad Dog Russo and even Nick Wright is they're not trying to be athletes' best friends and accept that athletes see them as media=enemy. SAS continues to want his cake and eat it too. He doesnt like when black athletes paint him as clown, hack or the enemy because he feels like he has some kinship with them when in reality they will always see him as an enemy because he's part of the media no matter what. SAS should just accept the role as villain and own it.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Your first sentence makes me less confident in your ability to recognize who's cool, but to each their own. My point is he's a billionaire dad and that's not exactly a cool demographic. Will Smith was cool once too.

will smith is a good analogue for lebron. he's also a huge jerk who gets laughed at behind his back by most people.

MJ was pretty cool at a similar age. mariah carey wore a jersey dress at the ASG in his honor. think rihanna will do that for lebron?

I don't know, keep us updated.

I dont know about you guys but my barometer for cool is a dude playing russian roulette whilst having the most venomous cobra wrapped around his ankle all the while singing heaven knows im miserable by the smiths.

Reaves i feel has done it thats why i feel he's so **** cool.

Also he needs to have a cigarette just loosely hanging off his mouth like some cool burnt out detective in the 40s.

[sp6r=underrated]

Show me a cool 40 year old billionaire.

what does age and financial status matter in how cool someone is? lebron has always been uncool.

Your first sentence makes me less confident in your ability to recognize who's cool, but to each their own. My point is he's a billionaire dad and that's not exactly a cool demographic. Will Smith was cool once too.

Correct. If you're in your 40s, married, kids, 2 decades deep into a career that has entrenched you in the establishment you are highly unlikely to be cool. Nor should you try to be.

To paraphrase an Englishman, all the world's a stage and one man in his time plays many parts

See Will Smith below:

Read on Twitter

[zimpy27]

anyone else think the swearing sounded way forced coming from lebron?

he is so uncool. which is fine, duncan was uncool too. but the guy has always wanted to be cool, unlike duncan.

it hurts to watch sometimes, like with this interview.

Actually LeBron is a natural swearer. If you ever seen him live you notice he swears more than other players on court. He just hides it for media interviews.

But I don't know how that's meant to make him cool or why it means he's trying to be cool.

[zimpy27]

Real question. Is anyone here an actual fan of Stephen A Smith? If Espn moved on from him and he wasn't on TV for the next three years would you miss his content? If he left and tried to start his own media company like a Barstool or Ringer would you follow his content if he wasn't on ESPN?

I am genuinely curious here.

I think people hate watch him tbh.