As one of the best all-around players of all time, there’s not much to complain about in LeBron James‘ game. However, his biggest critic, Skip Bayless, often finds ways to dismiss King James’ claim to greatness by questioning his clutch genes. In the wake of Bayless’ remarks over the years, LBJ’s ex-teammate Brendan Haywood set the records straight last year, during his appearance on No Chill with Gilbert Arenas.
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A recently resurfaced X clip shows how Haywood blasted Bayless for peddling the false narrative against LeBron. He accused the media veteran of being biased and having an agenda to tarnish his ex-teammate’s reputation in the league. Haywood said, “Playing with him [LBJ] in Cleveland, showed me that all that nonsense like Skip Bayless be talking, ‘He don’t have the killer gene.’ Maybe you shut your old a*s up.”
The 44-year-old then recalled the 2015 NBA playoff matchup between the Cavs and the Bulls, where LeBron had hit a buzzer beater to win Game 4 of the series in dramatic fashion. Haywood said that LBJ was “playing terrible down the stretch,” missing shots, free throws and had a lot of turnovers as well. The Bulls were leading the series 2-1 going into the crucial Game 4 matchup.
In that game, the scores were tied at 84, with 1.5 secs left on the clock in the fourth quarter. Haywood revealed that coach David Blatt had drawn a play that would have J.R. Smith in the position to take the final shot. However, despite playing terribly LeBron interjected the Coach’s plan. “Bro, I’ve never seen this. He [Bron] says, ‘Absolutely not’, grabs the clipboard, erases the play,” Haywood revealed.
After that, LeBron drew his own play, allowing himself to take the final shot. He executed a perfect catch and shoot to give his team a two-point win. Later at the post-game presser, LeBron unveiled that he had scratched the old play and demanded the coach to give him the ball. He said, “We’re either gonna go on overtime or I’m winning this for us. It’s that simple.” This story directly negates the Bayless narrative that LeBron doesn’t have the clutch gene to take the last shot.
LeBron James was not happy about being voted out
In 2013 ESPN the Magazine conducted a poll with 26 NBA players, asking them who should take the final shot in the game. In that poll, Michael Jordan and the late, great Kobe Bryant were the favorites, whereas LeBron was deemed not dependable by the players. When the information was shared with him, LBJ was furious. He said, “I really don’t care what 30 guys in our league say about me taking the last shot. I’ve got a few game winners in my career. I don’t let teams hang around too much for the last shot.”
While his peers let him down with their choice, a reporter once made LeBron smile ear to ear with his compliment. The reporter had told King James how he has evolved over the years as a clutch player. The 4-time NBA champion was touched by the compliment. He said, “I appreciate you saying I’ve been clutch my whole career. There’s not many like you.” Clearly coming through in clutch situations means a lot to LeBron. Even if he’s not the absolute best at it, it’s undeniable that he has been a clutch player his whole career.
