Stephen A. Smith said on March 19 that he thinks LeBron James' new podcast "Mind The Game" is a going to be a tool he can use to avoid media criticism.
But the ESPN host said he wasn't going to let James get away with it — and he's already living up to his word.
Smith spoke on his podcast, "The Stephen A. Smith Show," on Wednesday, April 3, to address comments that James made on the third episode of his podcast with JJ Redick that released the day before.
James talked about his first year with the Miami Heat and how the team fell short of the 2011 championship when they lost in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks.
Related: Stephen A. Smith thinks LeBron James is pulling a 'slick' move by starting his new podcast
"We had to build our team around all minimum guys, which was still okay, but we didn't fill out the complementary guys enough," James said. "We didn't have enough as far as enough complementary guys as far as complementary guys to actually make it work."
James and former Toronto Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh signed with the Heat in 2010 to join Dwyane Wade and form the infamous "Heatles" team. But the adding of the two stars to a team with Wade made it difficult for the team to build a roster due to financial implications, and so team president Pat Riley had to fill out the squad with players who would sign for the minimum allowable salary.
The Heat ultimately bounced back from their loss in 2011 to win back-to-back championships, which James credited to the addition of more complementary pieces in his second year.
"My second year, we was able to grab some complementary players and role players who were really just superstars in their roles," James said.
Smith, after showing the clip of James' statements, quickly went after the four-time NBA MVP.
"LeBron James — that is some straight b--- s---," Smith said.
The "First Take" star said that while James was right about the construction of his team, he missed out on some pertinent information from that NBA Finals series and Smith was happy to lay it out.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you remember in 2011, LeBron James and the Miami Heat, with that roster, were up 2-1 on the Dallas Mavericks before losing three straight," Smith said. "Do you know that LeBron James in Game 4 scored zero points in the fourth quarter? Do you know that in Game 5 LeBron James scored two points in the fourth quarter? Did you know that in that Game 4, LeBron James had eight points?"
Related: JJ Redick's podcast with LeBron James will test his criticism of basketball media, fans
Smith said that while James has ultimately proven himself through his four titles since then, 2011 was a different story — and that needs to be remembered.
"You weren't that dude in 2011," Smith said. "I don't give a damn about no roster. You had D-Wade. You had Chris Bosh ... that was not about your roster. That was about you."
The ESPN commentator prefaced his entire rant by still praising the brilliance of the podcast of James and Redick, but it's clear that Smith is also using it as fuel to criticize James — and ultimately find content for his own show as well.
Related: Women's basketball is gaining ground, but is March Madness ready to rival the men's game?
