Stephen A. Smith Apologizes For Wrong Statement About LeBron James And Kobe Bryant

Stephen A. Smith has apologized for the inaccurate information he provided in his lengthy rant about LeBron James.

LeBron and Smith's feud continues to grow, and both men seem unable to back down.

However, on Thursday morning, Smith seemingly shot himself in the foot when he made a claim about LeBron that was found not to be true, leading to an apology.

On Thursday's episode of ESPN's "First Take," Smith came out all guns blazing as he blasted LeBron.

In his rant, which lasted about 16 minutes, he said, "If LeBron James wants to see me continue to cover this sport, or he wants to have a problem with me continuing to cover this sport, I suggest that he be happy with the things that I haven't brought up."

He continued, "I never brought up really and never really discussed why you [LeBron] were not at Kobe Bryant's memorial service. I never really brought up or discussed why you did not attend Dwyane Wade's Hall of Fame induction when that man was directly responsible for you capturing a championship for the first time in your career."

Smith added, "I brought up none of that... But LeBron James, at the end of the day, wants to come at me, and he's walking around pouting."

However, Smith was wrong about LeBron not attending the late Kobe Bryant's memorial.

The Los Angeles Lakers star was indeed present at Bryant's memorial service.

Credible newspapers, The Los Angeles Times and Washington Post confirmed the basketballer attended but pleaded with cameras not to capture him out of respect for Bryant and his family.

When Smith found out he was wrong about LeBron's attendance at Bryant's memorial service, he quickly apologized.

During Hour 2 of "First Take," he said many people were "blowing up" his phone after the first segment to let him know he was wrong.

Smith said, "I didn't mean to say he [LeBron] wasn't in the building. I was told he was in the building. We saw a whole bunch of players out there. We didn't see him. Why? Hmmm. I will let him answer that one day if he so chooses."

The sports analyst also took to X, formerly Twitter, to apologize for his inaccurate comments.

He wrote, "My apologies and clarification. I misspoke in Hour#1 of @FirstTake today when I intimated that LeBron did not attend Kobe Bryant's memorial. I corrected myself in Hour#2 when I acknowledged he was indeed in attendance."

Smith added, "My mistake. Should not have even broached that subject. It was not my main point. I retract NOTHING else that I said. Have a nice day!"

In addition to mentioning some things he hadn't said about Lebron James, Stephen A. Smith said much more as he intensified his feud with the NBA icon.

"[LeBron] continues to lie to the world about what I said and who I was pointing the finger at," Smith stated on "First Take."

Clarifying his stance, Smith emphasized that his previous comments were never directed at Bronny James but rather at LeBron himself. "He said, 'I have no problem with you talking about the game,'" Smith explained. "What did I say about Bronny James, other than at the time he wasn't ready? That was it. I said nothing else."

He continued, "So if that's the issue—and I pointed to LeBron James and the fact that you circumvented a meritocracy just to get your wish at the expense of the credibility of the league in some people's eyes—that's talking about you. That's not talking about your son."

Smith also labeled LeBron as "petty" for taking issue with his remarks and suggested that he was upset because he refused to acknowledge him as the greatest basketball player of all time. "That belongs to Michael Jordan," Smith declared, launching into a passionate three-minute explanation of his stance.

During his lengthy "First Take" monologue, Smith challenged LeBron to continue the back-and-forth. He also made it clear that, as one of the most prominent voices in sports media, he would always have the final say. "This is my lane, bro," Smith asserted.

LeBron and Smith have never liked each other, but their animosity took a new dimension after the latter said, "I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: stop this. Stop this." He also said, "We all know that Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad."

LeBron seemingly didn't take kindly to those comments and confronted Smith courtside when the Lakers faced the New York Knicks on March 6. Smith addressed their confrontation the next day on "First Take," revealing that LeBron confronted him as "a father."

The sports pundit spent the rest of the month speaking about the confrontation, including on the "Gil's Arena" podcast, where he described LeBron's actions as "weak," adding, " thought it was some bullsh-t. But in the moment, I knew that I was listening to a father."

LeBron addressed the issue for the first time on March 26, during an appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show," taking aim at Smith for continuously discussing their confrontation. He said Smith "is on a Taylor Swift tour right now."

The 40-year-old basketballer also said Smith "completely missed the whole point. Never would I ever not allow people who talk about the sport to criticize players about what they do on the court. That is your job to criticize... that is all part of the game. But when you take it, and you get personal with it, it's my job not only to protect my d-mn household but protect the players."

However, the pair's feud took a comical turn afterward, with Smith saying on his "The Stephen A. Smith Show" podcast that he would have "swung" on LeBron if their courtside confrontation had gotten physical. LeBron then responded by trolling Smith on Instagram, posting a shady video of Smith doing pad work with gloves on. His caption to the post had several laughing face emojis and the caption, "WHOMP WHOMP WHOMPPPPPPP."