Having an opinion comes with the risk of backlash. But LeBron James isn’t a stranger to that. He recently sparked controversy during his appearance on Bob Does Sports. Bron named two cities where he currently dislikes playing: Memphis and Milwaukee. While Milwaukee’s name didn’t cause much ripple, Memphis had an opposite effect.

Meanwhile, names like Tuomas Iisalo, Darko Rajakovic, and, of course, Stephen A. Smith jumped in to call out the Lakers star. James, in the calmest manner, responded to all the criticism on Saturday. He asked the media during LA’s practice session, “Did I say I don’t like bla*k people?” To this, they replied, “No, you didn’t say that. But there were people who were wondering why Memphis was targeted.”

Now, after knowing that people didn’t react to his take on Milwaukee, the 41-year-old gave his answer. “Oh, yeah, okay. I said Milwaukee as well. I’m 41 years old. There’s two cities I do not like playing in right now. And that’s Milwaukee, and that’s Memphis. What is your problem? I don’t like going home either. Sh–, and I’m from there,” he said. Looks like Bron isn’t a fan of Ohio, too? Surprising revelation.

“What is people? People are ridiculous. They also get mad at my son being on the team, too. So what are we talking about? People need to figure out other ways to put their energy to other things. That’s important. Like, seriously. I’m not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis,” he continued. “I don’t like staying at the Hyatt. What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with that? Nothing. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? People need to shut the hell up.”

LeBron James made it clear on Bob Does Sports that he wasn’t a fan of that part of Tennessee and suggested the Grizzlies consider relocating to Nashville. “I’m f—ing 41 years old, you think I want to do that s— being in Memphis on a random a— Thursday,” he said. Meanwhile, he added. “I’m not the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. Like, we all like, ‘You guys have to move.’ Just go over to Nashville. You got Vanderbilt over there, and you got the f—ing NASCAR. You got a stadium. Don’t they have a hockey team too? Like they got everything.”

Of course, there is more to this story. There was once a real path where LeBron James could have landed in Memphis. Back in the 2003 NBA Draft, the Grizzlies sat in the lottery mix. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers secured the No. 1 pick, sending the Akron prodigy home. Meanwhile, Bron later admitted Memphis may not have worked anyway. He even joked he could have pulled an Eli Manning move. That reference hits hard.

In 2004, Eli Manning went first overall but refused to suit up for the San Diego Chargers, forcing a trade to the New York Giants, where he won two Super Bowls over Tom Brady. Meanwhile, Memphis has heard this tune before. Draymond Green reignited the fire in March 2026, suggesting a Nashville move. Naturally, Grizzlies fans felt the sting. Yet, with LeBron echoing similar energy, the relocation chatter suddenly carries more weight.

As backlash to LeBron James’ odd remarks gathered momentum online, Stephen A Smith quickly stepped in on Friday, firing shots across multiple platforms. Naturally, that reaction felt predictable, especially given their long-running feud.

Stephen A. Smith calls out LeBron James over Memphis comments

The First Take host lashed out at the 41-year-old for disrespecting a predominantly Bla*k town in front of “white dudes.” SAS said, “We can’t throw shade on LeBron until we take into account knowing that 63 percent of the people there are black, knowing that they need this team to continue to help fuel the economy, the local economy there, as opposed to big up in Nashville, and saying, ‘Why don’t you just go there?’ not thinking of the citizens at all.”

The veteran analyst continued, “I’m saying to say so flippantly amongst a bunch of white dudes in a golf course, knowing that the cameras are rolling and videoing you without any regard for what kind of effect that would have on a black populace is problematic, especially when I don’t know if it was your sneakers or whatever it was you just finished promoting months ago about black history and Martin Luther King and civil rights.”

In the end, despite all the criticism, LeBron James held his ground and brushed off the outrage. Meanwhile, Stephen A Smith added more fuel to the fire. As the noise grows, Memphis now sits at the center of a much bigger conversation. So, the real question remains whether relocation would solve anything at all.