Stephen A Smith Stirs Controversy With LeBron JamesStephen A. Smith (Image Credits: X/@big_business_)

While things have appeared to calm down between Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James and sports analyst Stephen A. Smith, the latter has fueled another controversy. The 58-year-old Smith went after James in a whole new rant as he alleged that the Lakers star doesn’t show the same attitude with white journalists.

The four-time NBA champion, James, went after Smith following the latter’s comments about his son and Lakers teammate, Bronny James. During a game last season, the 40-year-old walked towards Smith, who was sitting courtside, and confronted him about his personal attack on Bronny.

Just when the fans thought that the dust had settled on their beef, Smith accused LeBron of a racial double standard. “You ever see LeBron go at a white boy? Let’s call it what it is. You ever see him do that? You saw him come at me,” Smith said in his recent appearance on The Pivot podcast. “Closest you ever came to seeing him do something like that was when he called out Brian Windhorst.”

“What you calling out Brian Windhorst for? The man covered you since junior high school and has praised you repeatedly, and you used the Pat McAfee situation to go at him. That’s the only time you ever seen LeBron James really go at somebody white. I’m going to call it what it is,” Smith added.

LeBron James Called Brian Windhorst “Weird” For Pretending To Be His Best Friend

Brian Windhorst shares Lakers' prospects for this seasonBrian Windhorst and LeBron James (Photo by X/@ESPNNBA and Getty Images)
Last season, James made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show and called out NBA analyst Brian Windhorst for pretending ot be his best friend. The Lakers superstar took issue with Windhorst’s claims that LeBron wears No.23 and signed a contract with Nike because of Michael Jordan

While LeBron admitted he wore No.23 due to Jordan, he denied that the Nike contract had any relation to the Chicago Bulls legend. “I’ve seen Brian Windhorst … this guy who says he’s like my f—– best friend … These guys are just weird,” James said.

With the 2025-26 NBA regular season approaching, the Lakers face a major setback as LeBron James will miss the start of the season due to his sciatica injury. The Lakers had a 1-4 record in the preseason, losing their finale against the Sacramento Kings by one point.