Dwayne Wade Shows Support for LeBron James & Stephen A Smith

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James confronted Stephen A. Smith on March 6 during the team’s game against the New York Knicks over comments he made about James’ son, Bronny James.

Many have had opinions on what happened between the two, and now James’ former teammate Dwayne Wade weighed in.

“I have a personal relationship with Stephen A. Obviously, have a relationship with LeBron, and my relationship with Bron is documented,” Wade said on the 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast on March 16. “It’s duel sides.”

“I told [Stephen A.] as a father, I’m walking up on you. I get it because I’m like that too. I’m at you,” Wade continued. “But also, I told him, we’ve never seen LeBron do that. LeBron don’t even go back at players that foul him too hard on the court. He’s always been just even-keel and levelheaded in every aspect, and sometimes you want him to jump, sometimes you want him to go and he won’t. So to watch him, to watch the clip and watch him on that bench and see Stephen A. over there, he couldn’t take it.

“It was burning him,” Wade added. “But I told [Stephen A.], I think the one thing is, and first of all, I take it as that’s a sign of respect that LeBron did that to you.”

“And I told him, your microphone is the loudest, your platform is the biggest, and also you’re a Black man. So you got to understand where he’s coming from with that. If he even approached you—because the Skip Baylesses of the world and all these guys have said things about him his entire career and he’s been above it. He stayed quiet above it and did his thing, so that meant something. That’s respect right there for everything you’ve built… But also too, it’s a touchy situation because we’ve never seen this before when it comes to son and father [in the NBA],” Wade concluded.

Wade has two children, so he understands the need to protect them at all times. However, Bronny James is a professional athlete and is subject to criticism in that regard. He understands both sides.

NBA Legend Charles Barkley Jokingly Reveals Who He Sides With Between LeBron James & Stephen A Smith

Photo by Stew Milne/Getty Images

The incident between James and Smith has had everyone talking, including a humorous comment from NBA star Charles Barkley.

He jokingly claimed that he was siding with Lebron, but for one very specific reason.

“You gotta be careful talking about LeBron. I don’t want him running up on me,” Barkley said on TNT. “LeBron, get well soon. We love you LeBron. I don’t want you whooping my (expletive) or anything. In the stadium. Ain’t never worth getting your (expletive) beat up in front of 20,000 people.”

Lebron James Injury Update

During the Lakers matchup against the Boston Celtics on March 8, James suffered a groin strain that has sidelined him. And on March 16, ESPN’s Shams Charania gave an update on when Los Angeles expects its star to return.

Charania said that Lebron is expected to be out for at least one more week, but the Lakers don’t want to rush his return because they want him healthy for the postseason.