“LeBron James Isn’t the Only One in the Lab”: 250lb Lakers Star ‘Called Out’ by Skip Bayless As ‘Undisputed’ Returns Following Shannon Sharpe’s Dramatic Exit

The Los Angeles Lakers have been busy since the beginning of free agency on Friday. Lakers’ front office, led by GM Rob Pelinka, seem determined to correct their mistakes of the past by putting viable pieces around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Apart from extending the contracts of Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura, the LA side signed the likes of Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Jaxson Hayes, and Cam Reddish, to bolster their roster. As LeBron James looks to bag a fifth NBA championship in the 21st season of his career, veteran NBA analyst Skip Bayless inevitably ‘called him out’ to announce the latest edition of his show.

Long-time host of the FS1 show UNDISPUTED, Shannon Sharpe, recently announced his departure following a contract buyout from Fox. Reports have speculated that Bayless’ acerbic remarks on Sharpe’s career and the Damar Hamlin incident might have heightened the rift that was already present between the two hosts, ultimately leading to the exit. Even though heated exchanges between Skip and Shannon had been the secret sauce of the show since its inception in 2016, Bayless managed to upset his co-host on several occasions in recent times by crossing the line.

No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 3, 2023

The 71-year old host insinuated that Sharpe’s criticism of NFL legend Tom Brady came from a place of envy, since Brady was still active a decade after the age at which the Hall-of-Famer tight end retired. Sharpe seemed visibly upset by the personal attack and called his co-host out live on air. Weeks after the altercation, Bayless crossed the line once again by criticizing the NFL for postponing the Bills-Bengals game after Bills Safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the pitch due to cardiac arrest and had to be rushed to the hospital in critical condition. While fans across all sports prayed for Hamlin’s safe recovery, Skip’s insensitive tweet irked Sharpe.

Skip Bayless mentions LeBron James’ name once again to announce his new show

Skip Bayless is well-known in the NBA community as a ‘LeBron James Hater’. The veteran reporter has garnered a reputation of bashing the 6’9, 250lb superstar, often for just the sake of it. Many fans believe Bayless’ claim to fame came on the back of his outrageous LeBron James takes.

Therefore, it’s not surprising to see him ‘call out’ King James once again for no apparent reason, during the announcement of his new show. Following the departure of Shannon Sharpe from UNDISPUTED, the show naturally needed a drastic revamp. And Bayless announced the conclusion of that process in his recent tweet, not before bringing up James’ offseason schedule, “LeBron isn’t the only one in the lab this summer. Can’t wait to unveil Undisputed just in time for football season.”

LeBron isn’t the only one in the lab this summer. Can’t wait to unveil Undisputed just in time for football season. https://t.co/fpARm04FJu

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 5, 2023

The new edition of the show is set to premier on the 28th of August. It’ll be interesting to see who’ll join Bayless as the co-host of the show. Whatever the case maybe, Skip is surely expecting the new format to do well, considering he compared it to LeBron James’ preparations for his fifth ring.

The rift between Skip and Shannon

The internal rift between Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe had been a hot topic of discussion in the NBA community for some time now. Most fans have been quick to ascribe the blame to Bayless’ uncouth persona on television. For instance, Adam ‘PacMan’ Jones called the former Chicago Tribune columnist an a**hole on The Pat MacAfee Show.

However, Shape’s last episode on the show marked an emotional moment for him. He thanked everyone on the sets of the FS1 show, including his contentious co-host. In fact, both of them got very emotional as they ended a seven-year stint on national television.