Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas has never shied away from voicing his opinion — especially when it comes to LeBron James. While he’s often praised the future Hall of Famer, this time, Arenas took a different approach.
On his podcast, “Gil’s Arena,” the former Washington Wizards guard weighed in on the ongoing saga between James and Stephen A. Smith, coming to Smith’s defense in a bold yet humorous way.
Gilbert Arenas Fires Back at LeBron James: ‘I Got You Boss’
“LeBron James, if you ever do that s–t again [with] my potential boss, all hell is going to break loose,” Arenas jokingly said on his podcast. Arenas wasn’t having it when it came to James’ recent interaction with Smith.
“Don’t you ever in your mothaf–in life walk up on a $100 million man during his celebration. And that goes for all y’all out there. If you ever try to run up on Stephen A., [Kendrick Perkins] is gonna get ya.”
Arenas, who recently appeared as a guest panelist on ESPN’s “First Take,” could be looking to secure a full-time spot on the show. He jokingly name-dropped an ESPN NBA analyst and former teammate of James’, Kendrick Perkins, who has recently engaged in a back-and-forth with “Inside the NBA” analyst Charles Barkley.
“I got you, boss,” Arenas added in reference to Smith.
The Stephen A. Smith-James Incident
The controversy stems from an incident last week when James confronted Smith during the Los Angeles Lakers’ matchup against the New York Knicks over comments Smith made about James’ son Bronny James on “First Take.”
During the confrontation, the elder James walked up to Smith and told him, “I’mma tell you one time, bro. Keep my son out of this s–t, bro.”
Smith later reacted to being approached by James on “First Take.”
“That was LeBron James coming up to me, unexpectedly I might add, to confront me about making sure I mind what I say about his son,” Smith explained to the audience. “I can’t repeat the words because they aren’t suited for FCC airwaves. That’s what he was doing.”
He added: “That wasn’t a basketball player confronting me,” Smith added. “That was a parent. That was a father.”
Arenas and James’ History on the Court
Interestingly enough, James and Arenas have a bit of history as well. The two squared up in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs. James’ Cleveland Cavaliers got the better of Arenas and the Wizards in the series, defeating them 4-2.
The following year, Cleveland and Washington met again in the playoffs, but the Cavs swept the Wizards 4-0.
Those early postseason battles were just the beginning of James’ legendary career, which includes four NBA championships with three different teams.
How Has Bronny James Fared in His Rookie Year?
Bronny James has been a key topic of discussions for years, an expected outcome as the son of an NBA legend. However, over the last year, a lot of the conversations have been about whether or not Bronny deserved to be drafted or the media attention or if he has received it unfairly as LeBron’s eldest.
While some of these questions are understandable, the extra attention has also contributed to unfair expectations, especially when playing on a highly publicized — and scrutinized — team like the Lakers, where all information is amplified to the nth degree.
Therefore, there is more attention on Bronny than the average second-round pick, much less one drafted at No. 55. Regardless, he has turned things around after a passive start to his NBA career.
James is averaging 17.4 points and 4+ assists and rebounds per game through 16 games in the NBA G League (including both the regular season and the tip-off tournament). In just the regular season, that number has elevated to 20.6 points per game and 5 rebounds.
While he is still only seeing limited action in NBA games (18 appearances and 4.2 minutes per game), that is completely justifiable given his draft positioning. While it remains to be seen whether or not James develops into a rotational player on the big stage, he has proven he belongs at the level and is only going to continue to develop and grow at the age of 20.