Lonzo Ball Calls Out Stephen A. Smith After Exaggerated Injury Report

A beef is cooking between Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball and ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith.

While appearing on ESPN’s First Take earlier this week, Smith took a dour view of Ball’s recovery since tearing his meniscus in January 2022. “I don't think he'll ever be the same,” Smith reported. “I've heard that it's even hard for him to get up from the sitting position.... I'm really, really sad for him.”

Yesterday, Ball posted a video to X (formerly Twitter) slapping Smith down for his comments while showing his recovery progress. The footage shows Ball using only his left leg to support himself as he rises up and down from a seated position. “Come to the actual source next time,” the post is captioned. “I’m not hard to reach.”

“Stephen A., who are your sources, bro? Please tell me who your sources are,” Ball calmly begins, before appearing to lampoon Smith’s signature energy. “C’mon, man. C’mon, man. You gotta stop yapping. And I actually like you, man. I don't even know you like that. But I like you!” Ball then stands from the chair and confidently waltzes off camera. “I'm coming back, man, c'mon!” he says directly into the lens.

Always one to have the last word, Smith then posted his own rebuttal to X. “Happy to do so, Lonzo,” Smith said in response to the caption of Ball’s video. “Nice to know you’d finally like me to reach out. Not a problem. You know how to reach me, too. I’m here.”

Ball has yet to respond to Smith’s latest post. He has not played a game in the 20 months since his injury. Ball missed the entire 2022–’23 season, and in June his team announced that the point guard likely won’t return for the upcoming season, either.