Despite a tough loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, it has been a strong start to the season for LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Although he is in the twilight of his career and he’s seeing his number dwindle, James is looking to add another ring to his collection, which would be “one for the thumb,” as in his fifth championship ring. Still, some are not completely pleased with James’ career.

Fans React to Stephen A. Smith’s Latest LeBron James Take

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who never holds back his takes, claimed he holds two things against James.

“Number one, I hold LeBron James directly responsible for ruining the slam dunk contest,” Smith said on his YouTube show. “It started with him that stars began not participating because they followed LeBron’s lead.”

James never participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, unlike stars such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, though whether his absence caused later stars to skip the event is subjective.

“The other thing I hold against him is who is the nemesis of LeBron James?” Smith asked. “Who’s the one specific matchup that you’ve gotten to religiously look forward to?”

Smith cited the matchup between James’ teammate, former Celtics’ star Jaylen Brown, and Celtics’ MVP candidate Jayson Tatum as the type of rivalry he’d have liked to have seen James have. He would not allow Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry to be the answer, despite playing in the finals four years in a row, because they do not play the same position.

Some fans had their share of reactions to Smith’s comments. This fan laughed it off, saying Smith is just mad because nobody could keep up with James. Whether that’s why Smith made this argument is unknown, but it’s hard to deny that James has had anything resembling an equal in his career.

“Basically he’s mad because nobody was good enough to match Bron,” they said.

The whole take doesn’t make sense to many basketball fans, because he had plenty of individual matchups over the years as well.

“Did he just criticize LeBron cause none of his peers measured up?” this fan asked. “Mind you he was pitted against Kobe, Pierce, KD, Steph and Kawhi at different stages of his career, they really out here making up insults that make no sense.”

Others believe Smith simply keeps doing this for clicks. There’s no denying James brings them in. “Want views use Bron name,” this fan posted on X.

Another fan asked an interesting question, asking who Jordan’s rival was, noting that he mostly had team rivals rather than individual ones. “Who was Jordan’s?” they asked. “Da whole Pistons or Boston?”

Some fans believe Smith must have a personal vendetta against James to keep coming after him this hard for so many years. This fan asked, “Did LeBron do something personal to this man cause why hate this hard?”

Others, like this fan, are sick of Smith’s whole schtick and just want it to end. “Literally nobody cares anymore, man,” they wrote.

Plenty of fans agree. They just want Smith to move on. “Not a single person cares about these lebron topics anymore,” this fan said. “It’s redundant. We are in a new era. We don’t care, you’re providing no value to the present era.”

Others criticized Smith for his criticism of James. “Can’t believe Stephen A is up 100s of Ms because of childish talking points like this,” this fan wrote.

Obviously, Smith’s words haven’t affected James’ legendary career, and that’s unlikely to change now.

The 76ers will next take the court Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors. James will miss the game with a back injury, while the 76ers’ star center is listed as questionable with foot issues.