Stephen A. Smith does not believe Donald Trump stumbled onto LeBron James by accident.

Speaking on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, the ESPN host argued that the timing of the president’s broadside, with the November 3 midterm vote days away, is the story.

“There’s a reason that he’s saying it about LeBron James. It makes LeBron James a politically expedient tool to use as the midterms approach, because it’s about 10 days away,” Smith said.

Trump’s post landed on Truth Social on Thursday, two days after James made his Philadelphia 76ers debut in the team’s season opener at Madison Square Garden. Cameras caught the four-time NBA champion rolling his shoulders during “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a motion several viewers compared to a golf swing.

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“While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country!” Trump wrote.

“I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE. LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!”

Nurse keeps the focus on the floor

Nick Nurse, the Philadelphia 76ers head coach, declined to join the fight when asked about the president’s post.

“I think that goes right in with other outside noise we’ve already had,” Nurse told reporters.

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“All I really care about is getting to the practice floor, getting them in the film room, getting them to the game floor.”

James himself kept it brief, telling reporters it “must be a slow news day at the office.”

Observers also noted the stretch in question did not line up with a swing from James, who is right-handed, while the motion in Trump’s clip aligned with a left-handed swing.

Smith points to a snubbed White House visit

Smith framed Trump’s choice of target as personal as well as political, linking it to James declining a White House celebration during Trump’s first term.

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“Why do you go after LeBron James? It ain’t because he called you a bum; it’s because he refused to come to the White House and celebrate you,” Smith told SiriusXM.

Smith also described James as one of the greatest role models in American sport and said the Lakers-turned-Sixers forward did not deserve to be labelled unpatriotic. The analyst pointed to Trump’s own record at the anthem, including widely circulated footage from a 2020 Super Bowl party in which Trump appeared to conduct an invisible orchestra while the song played.

The next US election is on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, 10 days from Smith’s broadcast.

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