Recently, LeBron James was caught enjoying the offseason playing a sport that he doesn’t usually play. That sport is, of course, golf. It’s the same sport that other great NBA players have become skilled at over the years. But being his height, Skip Bayless was quick to warn LeBron about the dangers of golf upon seeing a video of his swing.
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LeBron is amazing at many things, and he may even be the greatest ever to play basketball. But one thing anyone can tell just by watching him swing in golf is that he isn’t too coordinated with the club. He has a very closed stance, doesn’t take the club back as far as he could, and looks awkward when swinging. It’s a bit comical to watch.
When analyst Skip Bayless got around to watching LeBron play golf recently, he could only draw one conclusion from the endeavor.
“Naturally, LeBron’s trying to go [Michael] Jordan,” Bayless claimed on The Skip Bayless Show. “Because Michael played a lot of golf with a cigar in his mouth.”
Jordan did indeed always have the iconic look with the cigar in his mouth when playing. LeBron, too, is a lover of cigars. But by the looks of his swing, he probably shouldn’t try to play while smoking one like MJ used to do anytime soon.
However, it’s a big thing to assume that LeBron is taking up golf to copy Jordan. It’s a very popular sport that many professional athletes play in the offseason. We tend to believe he’s doing it for fun and that he had no intention of being compared to Michael when posting the clips.
Regardless, Bayless still had a warning for LeBron about golf. He reminded him that he won’t be that good unless he dedicates a lot of time to the craft.
“LeBron, I got news for you, pal. Golf is the hardest game to play in the world, and nothing else is close to golf. Nothing,” Bayless said.
It’s a hard claim to disagree with. Although other sports are more physically taxing, like hockey, boxing, or water polo, it’s the mental aspect of golf that makes it so difficult to master. Mistakes can compound, and composing oneself on the course becomes a real skill. Let alone swinging the club correctly. It’s probably why so many former and current athletes love to play it.
But all in all, let’s let LeBron enjoy his offseason instead of drawing wild assumptions about his character. Bayless has always been a massive hater of his, and he showed here that he’s still prone to scapegoating the GOAT for no reason from time to time.
