LeBron James compares Stephen A. Smith to Taylor Swift for going on a complaint 'tour' about their altercation

NBA star LeBron James said analyst Stephen A. Smith needs to "relax" regarding their personal feud that James said Smith has talked about far too much.

The feud stems from a March 6 altercation in which James confronted Smith courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game against the New York Knicks. James was upset at Smith's remarks that LeBron "Bronny" James Jr. was pushed into the NBA by his father before he was ready.

According to Smith, James told him "stop f**king with my son!"

Smith then characterized the confrontation as "weak" and "bulls**t," later saying that if James had put his hands on him, he would have "immediately swung" a punch at him.

On Wednesday's episode of "The Pat McAfee Show," James mocked Smith for going on a "tour" about his complaints stemming from the ordeal and compared him to Taylor Swift.

"He's, like, on a Taylor Swift tour run right now," James joked. "It started off with, 'I didn't wanna address it. I didn't wanna address it. I wasn't going to address it. But since the video came out, I feel the need to address it.' Are you are you kidding me?"

McAfee then said the subject only came up on his show because a video of the altercation went viral. James made fun of the host for that comment and said McAfee "couldn't wait till the video had dropped" so he could address it.

'He's gonna get home and grab some ice cream.'

On top of saying that Smith had "completely missed the whole point" of his complaints, James explained he did not have any issue with on-the-court criticisms of his son. He added that he would never "not allow people to talk about the sport" or "criticize players about what they do on the court."

"That is your job," James affirmed.

However, the 40-year-old said he drew the line at getting "personal" and stated that he felt it was his job to not only "protect my damn household," but to "protect the players" on his team, as well.

The star forward further mocked Smith, saying that he knew the host would be happy to hear James talk about him.

"I know that he's gonna be happy as hell. ... He's gonna get home and grab some ice cream out of the f**king freezer and sit in his chair and his tighty whities on the couch."

Smith responded to James' remarks on Thursday's episode of ESPN's "First Take," described many personal stories regarding James, and noted that he declined to bring them up in the past out of respect. Smith cited James not appearing at Kobe Bryant's memorial or Dwyane Wade's Hall of Fame induction.

Smith then claimed James has been "pouting" and has tried to "ostracize" him from the sports world and NBA community though he has poured heaps of praise on the athlete throughout his career.

"I applaud them when they win. I criticize them when they're messing up," Smith concluded.

The host also warned James and his detractors that since he signed a new ESPN contract, "it's going to be a little while" before he and his commentary go away.

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