Dwyane Wade doesn't have a single issue with the way LeBron James publicly beefed with Stephen A. Smith last week ... in fact, he tells TMZ Sports he would have done the exact same thing if he were in the Lakers superstar's shoes.

Bron, of course, ignited the feud with the ESPN commentator while the two were at Crypto.com Arena for L.A.'s March 6 tilt with the Knicks ... after he had gotten upset over the way Stephen A. had previously spoken about Bronny James.

Video from the scene showed LeBron got inches from Smith's nose -- and yelled at him in an apparent effort to get him to stop being critical of his relationship with his oldest son.

When we got Wade out in New York City on Thursday to weigh in on the topic, he insisted he "loves" both guys ... but he staunchly defended his old teammate in the matter.

He told us he actually had a talk with Smith following the altercation ... and said to him, "I would have walked up on him the same way."

For Smith's part ... he did seem to understand LeBron's frustration -- though he said on "First Take" the morning after the incident that he wished James had confronted him in a more private setting.

Wade also had a bunch more kind words to say about James during our chat in NYC -- even suggesting that the NBA's all-time leading scorer get a statue erected in a very prominent location.