The confrontation between LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith at last night’s Lakers game has led to a ton of responses from people both defending LeBron and attacking LeBron.

Dave Portnoy Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth

 

One person who considers himself neutral in all things LeBron is Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy. After seeing the video of LeBron going to Smith and seemingly telling the ESPN host to stop talking about his son Bronny James, Portnoy said he felt bad for Bronny getting caught up in the whole debate.

However, he maintains that Bronny is the NBA equivalent of a “Make-A-Wish kid” in the NBA.

“My heart aches for Bronny James. Poor kid doesn’t belong in the NBA. He can’t quit. He didn’t ask for this. His dad created an impossible situation for him.

He’s a Make-A-Wish kid in the NBA. I just hope his dads insatiable ego doesn’t ruin his love for this beautiful game,” Portnoy posted earlier this morning.

But a short while later, Portnoy decided to go on a full-length video discussing the situation.

In his video, Portnoy said that while he doesn’t have a dog in the fight, he ultimately feels that LeBron is getting too much preferential treatment and is getting treated with “kid gloves” over the influence he’s had in bringing Bronny to the NBA.

“I need to rant about the #bronny James story. I’ve always been fair and unbiased to Lebron but this story is one of the more insane stories of all time. Stephen A with the kid glove treatment,” he wrote in the caption to his video on X.

NBA fans largely agreed with Portnoy’s assessment, with many asserting that LeBron is to blame for the entire controversy in the first place:

“Solid take Dave. You nailed this one. And this is another reason why Lebron will never be MJ or Kobe in my eyes. Cause they would never,” one user replied.

“Bronnie is also a grown man now, imagine how he feels seeing his dad do that “Dad please stop, now i have even more attention on the situation, you didn’t need to do all that” Probably makes him feel baby-ish,” wrote another.

“Completely agree. And Stephen A was pathetic today.”

LeBron and Bronny on the court.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 22, 2024: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and his son Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) sit next to each other on the bench during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on October 22, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Gina Ferazzi/Getty Images

Bronny James has been pretty lackluster in the NBA as a rookie this year and could take years to develop into a mere consistent bench player.

Whether or not it’s a reflection on LeBron’s parenting, it’s something that NBA analysts still have to contend with.