Bronny James’ alleged clapback at a fan during a game has earned a place in the pantheon of elite NBA insults despite his rookie status.
During a recent Los Angeles Lakers game against the Denver Nuggets, James, who’s become accustomed to the hecklers and trolls that go after him and his father, LeBron James, had the perfect response for someone who kept yelling what sounds like “We own your father!”
A viral clip shows Bronny quickly glancing the fan up and down and appearing to say to him, “Your chain is fake.” If the fan in the video is who he’s talking about, it’s either a shocking realization or an embarrassing reveal that hits a lot harder than attacking either James about their talents.
Bronny James’ confrontational diss echoes, on a much smaller scale, how his dad confronted Stephen A. Smith over past comments about his son.
At a Lakers game earlier this month, LeBron got into a heated one-sided discussion with Smith in which he said “stop talking about my son”—with more aggression and curse words.
The day after the confrontation, Smith opened up about a moment that he originally didn’t want to share with the world, or so he claimed.
"That was LeBron James, coming up to me ... to confront me about making sure I made what I say about his son," said Smith. "I can't repeat the words because they ain't suited for FCC airwaves. That's what he was doing.
"It was a one-on-one confrontation," he continued. "That wasn't a basketball player confronting me; that was a parent, and that was a father. And I can't sit here and be angry, or feel slighted by LeBron James in any way in that regard. ... He clearly took exception to some of the things that he heard me say and he confronted me about it."
Days later, Smith wasn’t so understanding. In an appearance on the Gil’s Arena podcast, Smith said that he “thought it was weak” and “bullshit.”
Smith explained what he believed was the reason that James confronted him in the first place.
“I remember during a timeout in the first quarter, I saw Bronny looking at me and he had a sad look on his face," Smith said. "And I'm imagining [James] saw that and the shit hit him.”
