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Stephen A. Smith Says LeBron James’ Legacy Would Be Nothing Without Dwyane Wade

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Another day, another hot take from Stephen A. Smith. Amid a week where Smith may have straight up broken the law, he took some time to drop a different basketball hot take. A lot has been made about LeBron’s absence from Dwyane Wade’s recent Hall of Fame enshrinement. Of course, the most likely reason for this is that James is continuing to care for his son Bronny. Bronny is recovering from a cardiac arrest last month. However, myriad theories surrounding disrespect and beef have also emerged.

It appears that Smith is one of those believers, as he tackled the issue head-on during a recent episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show. “LeBron James, one could easily argue, wouldn’t even know what it’s like to be a champion had it not been for Dwyane Wade,” Smith said. “Somebody needs to say it, so I’m going to say it.” Smith’s argument is based on the notion that LeBron didn’t win his first championship until he linked with Wade in Miami. Of course, LeBron has won two other titles. He earned one with the Cavs in 2016 and another with the Lakers in 2020. However, Smith later clarified that LeBron remains his #2 all-time NBA player behind MJ.

Read More: Stephen A. defends $3000 basketball camp…by saying he does a lot of work for HBCUs?

Does LeBron Owe It All To Wade?

Smith’s argument is muddled at best. He’s not saying Wade is a better player than James, although that’s definitely what it sounds like upon first hearing it. Instead, Smith is trying to make a very labored point about LeBron finally getting the support he needed to win a championship. Honestly, the most surprising thing about this take is how pedestrian it is. Like yeah, Wade helped LeBron get over the championship hump. Was that not the point of “The Decision”? Wasn’t all of this by design to get LeBron a championship-caliber supporting cast?

Again, what’s weird is that Smith is trying to apply this to LeBron’s non-attendance at the Hall of Fame ceremony. It feels like this would be a bigger deal if his family hadn’t suffered a major medical emergency less than a month prior. It’s completely understandable that LeBron might want to take things slow. But unless either party comes out to say otherwise, his non-attendance shouldn’t get taken as some weird snub against Wade? Maybe someone needs to check in on Stephen A., his takes are starting to get weird.

Read More: Stephen A. tries to walk back tweet calling Kim Kardashian a “prostitute”

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Lakers Reportedly Working With “The Last Dance” Producer

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Netflix’s The Last Dance was one of the hottest things on TV in 2020. The ten-episode documentary went behind the scenes of the Chicago Bulls’ 1997-98 season. That title run would ultimately become the last of the Bulls’ 90s dynasty and the series perfectly balanced archival footage with contemporary interviews. Of course, part of the show’s appeal was that we the audience (and many of the players at the time) knew it was their “last dance”.

However, another documentary may be in the works from the same production team. According to Lakers announcer John Ireland, Andy Thompson, who produced The Last Dance, has been spending a lot of time with the team this season. It has been a historic season for the Lakers, with LeBron surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Furthermore, the Lakers have been making a dominant run as a seven seed in the playoffs.

Is A LeBron-Centric “The Last Dance” In The Works?

“I hope I’m not talking out of school here. Andy Thompson, who is the guy who shot The Last Dance, Mychal Thompson’s younger brother, who has worked for the NBA for 30 years, has spent a ton of time with us this year,” Ireland told the Awful Announcing podcast. “So if LeBron ever wanted to go down this road, I think Andy is stockpiling that just so he has it and has the opportunity to tell the story.” It’s an interesting concept, but it only really works if this is LeBron’s last dance. LeBron has not expressed any clear intention to retire and has been very vocal about playing a few more years so he can share the court with Bronny.

“If we go on a magical run to the title, Andy, who was the driving force behind The Last Dance, most of the stuff you saw in those 10 episodes was shot by Andy Thompson. And Andy’s a smart guy, he’s already working on, potentially, a story about the end of LeBron’s run like he had one for the end of Jordan’s run,” Ireland added. However, while the season has been historic for multiple reasons, it really needs a Championship-winning ending. The Lakers currently lead the Warriors 3-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals.

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