Beef and Stephen A. Smith? It is a never-ending list, and the man surely knows how to handle it all too well. LeBron James confronting Stephen A. Smith earlier this month could easily go into the Hall of Fame of generational beefs. Never before did a player and a media personality clash so hard in front of a nationwide audience. Since then, Stephen A. has been on a “Taylor Swift tour run,” and that probably isn’t stopping anytime soon. After the ESPN mouthpiece’s constant indulgence on the matter for weeks, LeBron James finally decided to address it, and just like his every other move, it was nothing but strategic. Yes, the appearance on the Pat McAfee Show was strategic. If there was a need for any sort of confirmation, then Kendrick Perkins has it for you with a bonus.
The bonus? Public confirmation of tensions between Pat McAfee and Stephen A Smith. It’s been 48 hours since LeBron went on the former NFL star’s show, and the lingering effect still has social media ablaze. Joining in on all that was Perks, another face of ESPN. Not that he hadn’t divulged the issue before, but this time it was time to see the supposed bad blood between two of his network colleagues from his lens. So on the Road Trippin podcast with Richard Jefferson, Perkins screamed out the strategic side of LeBron’s appearance on the show while diving deeper into the Stephen A. Smith vs. Pat McAfee rivalry.
“It was strategically planned out that he wanted to go on there because we know it’s not revealed, it’s not public, but it’s something going on with a power trip between Stephen and Pat McAfee,” LeBron’s former teammate said. “Now Bron beefing with Stephen A., Pat McAfee Show come on right after that, I’m going to go on this platform and I’mma do it being petty at the highest.”
He revealed to his co-hosts about receiving “so many f—— phone calls and messages” from former players that said, “See, that’s what I be talking about with Bron, with the b——.” According to Perkins, LeBron could’ve gone to any other platform or podcast to talk about it, and it’d have still blown up. The ESPN analyst is giving examples like his own podcast with Jefferson, who has been on great terms with LeBron over the years. The former Celtics big man also mentioned the Knuckleheads, All the Smoke, the OGs, hosted by Mike Miller, and Udonis Haslem, who won a championship with LeBron. “You have Draymond Green, your guy,” Perkins added. “He did it to be petty towards Stephen A… You have other platforms, man, former athletes, brothers at that. That thing could have went and elevated their podcast, bro. Pat McAfee didn’t need that.”
Mar 24, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesThe Celtics big man
Last year, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported McAfee calling Stephen A. Smith a “m————-“ after the two disagreed on the path of a project that Smith is working on through his own production company, Mr. SAS Productions. It was later reported that the animosity was over after word got out about SAS potentially banning McAfee on First Take. Things have never been the same since then and the recent LeBron appearance bolsters the thinking of Perkins and like-minded people. Not only did Perkins talk about the SAS vs McAfee debate, he also addressed the disrespect towards Brian Windhorst on PMS.
Truth behind Brian Windhorst’s disrespect emerges amid Stephen A. Smith drama
If you haven’t seen the PMS episode featuring the ‘LeBronversation’, in that hour-long appearance, the Lakers star took shots at other media personalities apart from Stephen A Smith, especially Brian Windhorst. “I’ve seen Brian Windhorst on one of these shows not too long ago. This guy who says he’s like my f—— best friend, these guys are just weird,” the 40-year-old said. He proceeded to shoot down Windy’s claims of LBJ signing with Nike due to Michael Jordan, which couldn’t have been further from the truth, according to Bron.
But the whole conversation about Windhorst was a set-up, according to Perkins and Jefferson. By photoshopping Windy on LeBron’s high school basketball team, McAfee set the stage for a diss, according to Jefferson. Perkins revealed McAfee doesn’t go by a schedule and calls up people prior to his show.
“So one day Windy actually had seven shows to do. He had Sports Center, Get Up, First Take, and they hit him and said, ‘Hey, can you jump on real quick?’ And he like, ‘Well, I’m doing a show from the arena, I’mma be in the car with a group of people.’ They was like, ‘Oh, never mind,’” Perkins revealed. “He goes out and put on social media that, ‘Hey, anybody out there, I will pay on the one alliance for any NBA analyst to come on the show because I can’t get them in-house because they’re not available.’”
Windhorst went on to respond to LeBron’s comments on Stephen A. Smith’s First Take on Wednesday. “People like the rivalries, and people like looking at why Luka Doncic has trouble defending Tyrese Haliburton in an iso situation. I think there’s room for all of it. And there’s room to hold each other accountable, but the finger-pointing, I don’t think that benefits anyone,” the reporter said on the show.
Stephen A. was fuming over the disrespect to his colleague and confirmed that under no circumstances had Windhorst ever claimed to be LeBron James’ best friend. If anything, the Cleveland analysis defends LeBron more than anyone else, something even Perkins and Jefferson acknowledged during their podcast. So, when does all this end? Surely not on a pay-per-view since Stephen A. Smith’s claim of swinging at LeBron. There might not come a day when we see the duo making peace, because, one after another, Stephen A. loves to poke the King.
The post Tensions Between Stephen A. Smith & Pat McAfee Seemingly Confirmed as Brian Windhorst Disrespect Unearth appeared first on EssentiallySports.
