Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean went viral for the wrong reasons during the Lakers’ recent 118-104 loss to the Sixers. DeJean attended the game with a few of his teammates following their NFC Championship victory over the Commanders. During warmups, Lakers superstar LeBron James greeted the Eagles players but left DeJean hanging. James’ actions didn’t seem purposeful, leaving a sour taste in many mouths, none more so than NBA analyst Skip Bayless, who didn’t mince his words toward the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
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Bayless took to X to send a personal message to LeBron. His words of criticism were to push James to make amends for disregarding DeJean. He said,
“Hey, LeBron, you should get to know who Cooper DeJean is. You greeted several of his Eagles teammates who were in the front row last night at the Lakers at Sixers game BUT YOU IGNORED COOPER DEJEAN. Surely not on purpose. He can ball, Bron!”
Hey, LeBron, you should get to know who Cooper DeJean is. You greeted several of his Eagles teammates who were in the front row last night at the Lakers at Sixers game BUT YOU IGNORED COOPER DEJEAN. Surely not on purpose. He can ball, Bron!
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 30, 2025
The video that Bayless is referring to shows James greeting a handful of Eagles players including A.J. Brown. As LeBron walks toward the direction of DeJean he gets ready to take his hand out his pocket but puts it back once he realizes the Lakers star isn’t walking toward him.
Oh no. Absolutely breaks my heart seeing Cooper DeJean start to take his hand out of his hoodie pocket, and then realize he's not getting dapped up by LeBron. https://t.co/8n6If0hXKk
— Jordie (@jordiebarstool) January 29, 2025
Bayless’ passionate message serves to call out LeBron and educate him on who Cooper DeJean is. The 21-year-old rookie has been a standout player for the Eagles in his first NFL season. LeBron has yet to address the situation to the media but may be increasingly more likely to, following Bayless’ comments.
But this instance isn’t the first time that Bayless has sent random shots in the direction of LeBron.
Skip Bayless and LeBron’s relationship over the years
There is certainly animosity between Bayless and LeBron that has brewed over the years. The former Undisputed host is notorious for being James’ biggest hater, constantly calling him out. There are so many instances of Bayless’ unwarranted criticism, but a recent case came in the 2021 NBA Finals.
James attended Game 5 of the Finals between the Suns and the Bucks in Phoenix. Milwaukee went on to win the game, which snapped an eight-game home playoff win streak for the Suns. Bayless pointed to none other than LeBron as the reason the Suns fell short.
“This is what happens when LeBron shows up to root for you in a huge NBA Finals home game,” Bayless said.
There are many more random strays from Bayless. He is on record for saying that, “LeBron James wearing 23 is a disgrace.” Bayless even said that James winning the 2020 NBA championship did more damage to his legacy because it was an “absolute cakewalk.”
James does his best to avoid Bayless’ remarks. However, that doesn’t stop the NBA analyst from continuing to speak about the 21-time All-Star in a negative light.
