Skip Bayless is ready to stand on his soapbox and sharpen his judgment knives. The famed analyst was called out by Gilbert Arenas on a recent edition of his Gil’s Arena podcast, where Arenas slammed Skip for his nonstop criticism of LeBron James. “If you’re going to be a fan of a player and his greatness, just be a fan of greatness itself,” Gil famously stated. Now Skip is hitting back.
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Bayless responded to Gil’s finger-pointing on the latest edition of his digital show on YouTube. “I’ve never been anything but fair and honest in my assessment of LeBron James,” claimed Skip (this should be taken with a pinch of salt, especially when you see some of the statements he’s made about James).
He would remind his audience, and Gil, that he’s constantly praised James throughout his 22-year career, even referring to him as a “bullet train of a freight train” when driving the rock.
However, Bayless also revisited some of his earliest LBJ viewpoints during his Arenas rebuttal. He knocked James for his inability to shoot the three-ball in late-game situations, and tore him to pieces for his inefficiency at the free-throw line.
He also credited Ray Allen and Kyrie Irving for keeping LBJ from being 2-8 in the Finals due to the big shots they hit in 2012 and 2016.
Like most of Skip’s criticisms of James, Michael Jordan was then brought up.
He told Gil that during his time at the Chicago Tribune, he was welcomed to speak ill about MJ because “against the grain” media coverage was encouraged. “I wouldn’t have gotten fired for criticizing Michael Jordan,” stated Skip. “I would have gotten a raise.”
Skip’s main point to Gil was that he watched more NBA games than anybody else to properly assess players, even calling it an “addiction.” He challenged the now-retired star to debate him in person so he could see how equipped he was to discuss the subject, particularly James and his inadequacies.
Is Skip Bayless’ criticism of LeBron James fair?
The problem with Skip’s claim that he’s “fair to LeBron” is that it’s always been an act to drive viewers to his show or listeners to his pod, which is the point that Arenas was making in the first place.
Skip famously stated that James lacked the “clutch gene,” and it was this very thing that removed LBJ him his GOAT conversations. James has had more game-winning shots than one can count in his 20-plus-year career.
His block against Andre Iguodala in the 2016 Finals nail-biter against the Warriors is considered one of the greatest plays in NBA history, proving LeGOAT’s clutch on both sides of the ball.
Bayless also called James and the Lakers 2020 NBA Finals victory a “Mickey Mouse” win.
Yet a large number of NBA stars, popular or not, admitted that despite living on a resort the “isolation” was difficult for their mental health. One could argue that 2020 was one of the hardest postseasons in NBA history due to the circumstances.
A Gil vs. Skip live debate would be fun on the factor that Gil does know the ball and his growth as a podcaster would make for an entertaining back-and-forth with Skip, who has mastered the “headline-grabbing” quotes for years. But in the end, it would be a player arguing with a stat wall, especially regarding James.
“Enjoy it…cause we’re never gonna see this type of dominance again,” Gil said about LeBron James’ historic NBA run. It’s hard to argue.
