Skip Bayless is bashing LeBron James again. You know what that means, that it must be a day that ends in “y.” On the latest episode of his podcast, Skip went after LeBron for a variety of things in his typical monkey-flinging-poo style, denigrating the 22-year vet for choking in the clutch against the Timberwolves in the playoffs, failing to bluff the Lakers into making more offseason moves and, most bizarrely, trying his hand at golf.
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Let’s go through Skip’s grievances to see if the old saying is true that even a broken clock is right twice a day. While he has a point that LeBron wasn’t great in the fourth quarter for most of the Timberwolves series, his point falls flat because LeBron wasn’t anywhere close to the reason L.A. lost in five games.
The 40-year-old averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists in that series while playing more than 40 minutes per game. That’s an outstanding statline for anyone, let alone someone who is about to set the record for most NBA seasons played.
It’s also not LeBron’s fault that the Lakers had no viable center on the roster. That, of course, was why they were dominated inside by Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle.
Skip took a victory lap now that it seems clear that LeBron will remain in L.A. after so much speculation about his contract opt-in. “No matter how much LeBron huffs and he puffs and he bluffs, he’s going nowhere,” Skip said.
Bayless continued the censure: “He brilliantly took the onus and the focus off three straight ‘LeChoking’ fourth quarters … against Minnesota, and he successfully delivered the message to his billions of blind witnesses that he still wants to win a championship now now now, even if the Lakers want to slowly rebuild around Luka.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. First is how Skip compared LeBron to the Big Bad Wolf. If he wanted to be more accurate, he would have compared him to Moby Dick, since LeBron has always been the white whale that Skip has maniacally chased.
Next is the play on LeBron’s name by coining the term “LeChoking,” which is rich for a guy whose name doubles as the action people should take if his podcast comes up on their feed.
Skip also bastardized Nike’s “We Are All Witnesses” LeBron slogan to imply that anyone who follows him is blind to the truth that apparently only Skip can see. Skip has always fancied himself a prophet, and he drove his point home with one of his favorite devices, the childlike repetition of “now now now” in order to, I guess, drive his point home.
Skip said that LeBron’s fourth-quarter postseason struggles were “why there was no way that Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss were ever going to add extra years to [his] contract.” For someone who has followed LeBron so closely for so many years, is this really what Skip believes LeBron was going for here?
LeBron has all the money he’ll ever need. If he became a free agent, there’d be a line around the block to sign him. When he had Rich Paul put out that cryptic statement after he opted in, it wasn’t to add more years to his contract. It was to try to force the Lakers to make some win-now moves so that he could have a better chance at ring No. 5. Come on Skip, this one was obvious.
Skip’s diatribe against LeBron’s golf game has to be the funniest bit in all of this, as he implied James should be in the gym working on his free throws instead of on the links enjoying a new hobby in the offseason.
“To me, here’s the new X-factor you’ve recently inserted into your basketball equation, and that is golf,” Bayless asserted. “Instead of going back to the basketball lab, it sounds to me like you’re now in the golf lab trying to play the world’s hardest game at age 40.”
Skip droned on, “Golf is as addictive as it is difficult and incredibly time-consuming. I’m sure you’ve figured this out. It takes four to five hours to play 18 holes. Now, you’re taking lessons. I know you’re taking lessons. I know you’re practicing for hours and hours, in ways you’ve never practiced making free throws, of course.”
This is all so laughable to come at one of the best players of all time for not working on his game. LeBron shot 78.2% from the line last year, the best mark of his entire career. Skip would know that if he did some research instead of steering the Pequod right into the storm, harpoon in hand.
Just as some people love watching pro wrestling for the spectacle of it or slow down on the highway when they see an accident, there are undoubtedly people out there who love watching Skip spew his hot takes. I won’t begrudge them that, just as I never begrudged anybody who enjoyed the mindless entertainment of The Jerry Springer Show.
Skip seems to think that LeBron is listening to him. Whether he’s on the basketball court or the golf course, something tells me he’s not tuned in.
Is a broken clock right twice a day? I don’t think LeBron’s checking this particular watch.
