LeBron James is falsely accused by Stephen A. Smith of missing Kobe Bryant’s memorial service in his most recent rant

The story goes on. 

Naturally, Stephen A. Smith had more to say about LeBron James. In his most recent tirade, the 57-year-old television personality incorrectly claimed that the Los Angeles Lakers player had missed Kobe Bryant’s 2020 memorial service. 

First Take began with an almost 20-minute tirade by the sports commentator criticizing LBJ’s appearance on The Pat McAfee Show and his Instagram post mocking SAS’s boxing session. He brought up how the four-time MVP failed to pay the late Lakers star his respects after he passed away in a helicopter crash, while also restating his opinion that James is not the greatest basketball player of all time, comparing his resume to Michael Jordan’s, and making other remarks about his character.

SAS stated, “I never really brought up and never really discussed why you weren’t at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service.” “Dwyane Wade was directly responsible for you winning a championship for the first time in your career, so I never really brought it up or talked about why you didn’t go to his Hall of Fame induction.” In order to be with Bronny James while he recovered from cardiac arrest, James most likely missing Wade’s ceremony, he claimed, although he then questioned why he had been abroad on business two weeks before.

The issue is that LeBron James asked not to be filmed while attending Kobe Bryant’s funeral ceremony. It is unclear why Stephen A. Smith believed otherwise and boldly declared it on national television when The Los Angeles Times confirmed his attendance. Social media users were eager to share pieces from other sites that verified James’ presence, and some called SAS “disgusting” for making such a claim.

Over the past few weeks, the host of the eponymous podcast has become increasingly irate, but Wednesday’s events (March 25) might have pushed him over the line. Smith was reprimanded by the NBA’s all-time top scorer for prolonging the altercation and “missing the point” during their game against the New York Knicks on March 6. Smith was offended when he dubbed analyst Brian Windhorst “weird” for behaving like his closest friend.

James helped the Lakers overcome the Indiana Pacers later that night with a buzzer-beater, and he quickly made fun of SAS on Instagram. In reaction to Smith’s statement that he would have swung on him if their argument had been physical, he uploaded a video of himself boxing along with the well-known Key Glock and Young Dolph “Womp, womp, womp” meme. Interestingly, these were James’ initial responses to the fight that occurred over three weeks ago.