LeBron James’ Contact With Dante Exum Deemed a Frustration Foul by Skip Bayless, Calls for Flagrant During 3rd Quarter vs Mavericks

Aakash Nair | 26/02/2025
Skip Bayless Deems LeBron James’ Contact With Dante Exum a Frustration Foul, Calls for Flagrant

Despite missing out on several key roster pieces, the Dallas Mavericks forced a close contest at Crypto.com Arena. Skip Bayless believes that the frustration got to LeBron James during the game. In Luka Doncic’s first battle against his former team, Kyrie Irving kept the game competitive through four quarters.

However, as the third period drew to a close, that competitiveness resulted in a harsh play involving James and Dante Exum. The King went up for a layup over the Mavs guard when the ball slipped out of his hands.

But since LeBron was already in motion, he ended up raising his arms for the layup, which led to an unfortunate collision with Exum. This resulted in a harsh blow for Exum, who had to exit the game. According to Bayless, the play should have merited a flagrant foul call.

The Australian guard had scored two consecutive baskets for the Mavericks before catching an elbow from the King. The contact dropped him to the floor and forced him to exit the game in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Much to Skip’s dismay, the officials ruled it as a turnover and didn’t call a foul against James. The ruling was supported by the footage that showed James’ shooting hand rising after he lost the ball, suggesting that the contact was inadvertent and not malicious.

Of course, Bayless didn’t agree with the decision. “LeBron knew he had lost the ball and, frustrated, followed through with his elbow into Exum’s face,” the 73-year-old tweeted.

As they often do, James’ fanbase came to defend the four-time MVP from Skip’s baseless accusations.

Another fan commented on how ridiculous Bayless’ claim was, given that James wasn’t even called for a foul, let alone a flagrant. They joked that LeBron’s only violation in this situation was his superior strength. “Offensive foul (LeBron too strong),” the Laker faithful tweeted.

Unfortunately for Bayless and the Mavericks faithful, Exum wouldn’t return for the rest of the game. He will likely enter a concussion protocol due to the contact to his head, which could be a significant loss for Dallas. In 11 minutes tonight, the 29-year-old recorded 8 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. LeBron on the other hand, has 27 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, and 2 blocks against Doncic’s former team.
Post Edited By: Raahib Singh
LeBron James Skip Bayless

About the author

Aakash Nair

Aakash Nair

NBA journalist Aakash Nair has followed the game for nearly a decade. He believes that basketball today is just as alive during the off-season with podcasts, interviews, articles and YouTube videos constantly providing fans with new insights. Aakash closely follows the game of narratives, of who will have a breakout year and who might be on the slump. As a fan, he is interested in all the context and behind-the-scenes moves that go into making a championship contender. As a writer, he intends to bring that same context to the forefront.

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