Team USA’s performances in the exhibition games before the Paris Olympics were subpar at best. Even though they are undefeated, near-misses in games against South Sudan and Germany have cast a shadow of doubt over the team’s chances at Gold.
Advertisement
Media veteran Skip Bayless expressed his disappointment with Team USA, stating that if it wasn’t for LeBron James taking over in the 4th quarter, the USA would’ve last games against both Germany and South Sudan.
Bayless said that South Sudan gave Team USA their hardest challenge in the exhibition run. While they were big underdogs going into that game, South Sudan proved everyone wrong with their scoring abilities and the ability to lock down Team USA’s offense.
With eight seconds left on the clock, LeBron rescued his side with a go-ahead lay-up and gave Team USA the lead. Similarly, Germany also gave a strong challenge to Team USA in the last game, and it required LeBron to go on an 11-point run in the last 4 minutes to save the game.
Bayless said, “The King rode to the rescue in both games. LeBron was phenomenal in both games. He was great, late, playing bully ball in both games… he was playing harder than anyone else out on the floor.”
Interestingly, this comment from Bayless comes after he criticized LeBron and his performances during the games that don’t carry any real value. The media veteran also scoffed at LeBron saying ‘I love the competition’ after the game against Germany.
“LeBron is 39 going on 29.”
— @RealSkipBayless on LBJ carrying Team USA in 2 of their exhibition wins pic.twitter.com/0EAWSUmN6o
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) July 25, 2024
He said, “Well, it’s a practice game against South Sudan and against Germany that I cautioned you might not have given everything it had to give. Maybe it gave a little less than its best because that’s how a lot of teams from all around the world play practice games.”
After a brief moment of appreciation for King James, Bayless went back to throwing shade at him for being a practice game bully, a tag which he handed to him publicly.
Skip trashes LeBron for being the king of practice games
There’s a unanimous decision regarding who has been the best player for Team USA so far. Although we have yet to kick-start the global event, LeBron’s coming to the team’s rescue in exhibition games has established him as the best player on the team.
While Bayless also agrees that LBJ saved Team USA in the last two games, he still believes that all the heroics are only there for the practice games, something that he has shown in the past as well.
He said, “LeBron James is the king of practice games. Because, what happened in the bubble? When nobody else was able to take it as seriously as LeBron did, he rose, and he showed, and he took over in the bubble.” So, even though he is not 100% on LeBron’s side, any praise coming from a notorious hater like Bayless should be seen as a win by LeBron fans.
