“LeBron James Is a Phony GOAT For His Turnover”: Skip Bayless Goes Off At Lakers Star For Major Flubs In Loss To Nuggets

Despite a horrendous start to their 2022-23 campaign, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the Western Conference Finals behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis’ rigor and Rob Pelinka’s tremendous trade-deadline activity. However, their start against the Nuggets in Game 1 had some glimpses of the early season conundrum. And the famous LBJ hater, Skip Bayless, was quick to blast The King for it.

Nikola Jokic and Co are having a great campaign through and through. Before eliminating Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul’s Suns in the 2nd round, they finished their regular season quite in contrast with the Lakers as the #1 seed in the West.

The Purple and Gold were 2-10 to start this year’s campaign and were not close to making it to the Playoffs until the All-Star break. But they came back strong to finish their campaign as 7th seed and then won the Play-in tournament against the OKC Thunder, 1st round of the Playoffs against the #2 seed Grizzlies, and then eliminated the defending champs, Golden State Warriors, from the conference semi-finals.

And all through this, the FS1 analyst has been consistently bugging James for his mistakes in every Laker loss.

“LeBron James is a phony GOAT”: Skip Bayless chimes in once again

Game 1 was a close 132-126 defeat Tuesday night, which in the 1st half, looked like it’ll be a blowout loss for the Lakers. James was 9/16 from the field for his 26 points that came along with 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and a block.

However, it was his four shots from the 3-point line, especially the one that came from 26 feet out with 42 seconds remaining on the game clock and the Nuggets just up 3, which cost the Lakers the game.

Also, the last turnover with 20 seconds remaining in the game proved to be criminal. And so, the 71-year-old Bayless went off at him ruthlessly for both his mistakes.

WHY DOES LEBRON JAMES INSIST ON JACKING UP THREES WHEN HE’S SUCH A POOR THREE-POINT SHOOTER. HE TOOK A HUGE ONE JUST NOW WHEN HE SHOULD’VE ATTACKED. HE CAME IN SHOOTING 26% FROM THREE FOR THE PLAYOFFS. TONIGHT: 0-4. JUST KILLS HIS TEAM FROM THREE.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 17, 2023

Bayless even said the following,

“(LeBron James is a) Phony Goat (For His Turnover)”

“LeBron also had a crushing late turnover after dribbling between his legs in the lane, when Jamal Murray knocked it out of his hands. The “GOAT” has to be better than that. Phony Goat.” Bayless tweeted.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 17, 2023

He is going overboard after just one game. Especially given that we have seen what these Lakers can do against some of the best teams in the league. Despite that, they are playing against the best team in the West. And so this series may demand a lot more out of James and other LA players.

From what happened in the second half of Game 1, we now know winning in Denver is possible for this team and that’s what Laker Nation would expect— a repeat of the Bubble.

The shadow of the Lakers-Nuggets series in the Bubble looms large

The Lakers wouldn’t find it as easy to beat the Nuggets as they did in the Bubble, in 2020. Playing in Orlando, they had a 4-1 victory over the Denver team in the WCF. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they aren’t the favorites anymore.

That series had its crucial moment in Game 2 when AD turned around the 1-point Nuggets lead to a 2-point Lakers win right at the Buzzer, with mad a 3-point shot. Take a look at the YouTube clip by Bleacher Report below.

The Lakers went on to win the championship that year. But neither team is remotely the same apart from their main duo of LeBron-AD and Jokic- Murray.

They combined for 66 and 65 points respectively last night. And so, these four players remain the factors that will determine the outcome of this series. Let’s see where Game 2 takes us this time.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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