Stephen A. Smith issued an apology last week after he threatened to expose why LeBron James did not attend Kobe Bryant’s memorial service in 2020, and many people are now wondering whether LeBron was actually there.
Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Jan. 26, 2020. On Feb. 24 of that same year, a “Celebration of Life” was held for Kobe and Gianna at Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
A number of celebrities and athletes attended the service. At the time, the Los Angeles Times mentioned James as one of a group of current and former Los Angeles Lakers players and coaches who were in attendance. But no one has been able to confirm that.
Smith and James have been feuding for weeks after LeBron angrily confronted Smith over the ESPN analyst’s coverage of LeBron’s son, Bronny James. After James finally spoke about the incident during a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Smith went on “First Take” and said LeBron should feel lucky that Stephen A. is not exposing certain controversies that would make the Lakers star look bad.
One of the examples Smith cited was that LeBron did not attend Kobe’s memorial service, and Smith claimed to know the reason why.
“I suggest that he be happy with the things that I haven’t brought up. I never brought up really, and never really discussed, why you were not at Kobe Bryant’s memorial service,” Smith said.
Smith quickly apologized after people began citing various news stories that listed James as one of the people in attendance. Smith said he was informed that LeBron was “in the building” but not visible.
“Why? I’ll let him answer that one day, if he so chooses,” Smith said.
The story got a lot stranger on Friday. Former ESPN host Pablo Torre said on his show that he spoke with eight different sources with knowledge of the memorial who were certain LeBron was not there. Torre mentioned how Diana Taurasi seemed to gesture in a specific direction when she mentioned James in her speech, which many took to mean LeBron was sitting in the area she pointed to. There were no photos or videos that showed LeBron, however.
We fact-checked Stephen A. Smith's allegation that LeBron James did not attend Kobe's memorial, with 8 sources:
— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) April 4, 2025
"There's no f–king way he was there. If he was there, he was Casper the Ghost." pic.twitter.com/iu9BrP0DxO
LeBron was asked about the memorial while speaking with the media the following day. He said it was a “very emotional day” and praised Kobe’s widow Vanessa Bryant for her strength. LeBron would not, however, confirm whether he was in attendance.
“Like I said, man, it’s just … I respect your question, for sure,” James said, via the Los Angeles Times. “It was very emotional, very emotional day, very tough day for myself, for my family, for everyone involved.
James gave a very powerful speech at Staples Center days after Kobe and Gianna died. If he did not attend the memorial service, perhaps he had a valid reason for missing it. Smith’s original claim last week made it seem like LeBron would not want people to know the reason, if James in fact was not there. That is the part that has made the story so interesting.
