Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson question Stephen A. Smith’s claim regarding viral exchange with LeBron James

A video of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James speaking to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith in what seemed like a stern manner has made the rounds on social media. The conversation between Smith and James occurred at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night, where the Lakers took on the New York Knicks.

On Friday morning, Smith made a dramatic post on X regarding his exchange with James. He claimed in the post that he didn’t want to address his interaction with James publicly, but because it went viral, he had no choice. He explained that he would be offering details throughout the day.

However, two people who played with James during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers — big men Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love — pushed back against Smith’s post. Love questioned Smith’s reasoning on X, and Thompson seemingly approved of Love’s post.

Smith later revealed that James told him to watch his words regarding his son Bronny.

Thompson and Love were members of the legendary Cavs team in 2016 that came all the way back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals to win its first title in franchise history.

But Love is no longer a member of the Cavaliers and hasn’t been for some time now. He last played for Cleveland in the 2022-23 season and is currently a member of the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, he hasn’t gotten much run time in Miami this season. He’s seen the floor in just 21 of the Heat’s 61 games played to this point and has appeared in just five contests since the calendar turned to 2025.

Conversely, Thompson is amid his second stint with the Cavaliers after he spent the first nine seasons of his NBA career with the team. He rejoined Cleveland in the 2023 offseason after he carved out short stints with the likes of the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. In 32 games played and zero starts this season, he’s averaging 1.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

Considering Thompson and Love were in the trenches with the elder James and won a title playing alongside him, it’s unsurprising that they seemingly came to his defense on social media. Maybe more of the elder James’ former teammates will do the same in the near future.