Recently, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers hit the road to take on the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat. Although the Lakers lost the game on a Cam Reddish three that clanked off the rim at the buzzer, it was James' comments about his time spent as a member of the Miami Heat that garnered most of the headlines.

James claimed ahead of the Heat matchup that his NBA career would have been just as dominant had he never taken his talents to South Beach to join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, winning two championships in the process, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

James' brazen claim sparked a wide array of reactions, including one from noted LeBron critic and FS1 sports media personality Skip Bayless.

“As a player, [LeBron James] was going to be however great he was going to be,” said Bayless on FS1's Undisputed “… [Miami] was the perfect place to go at a young age. Dwyane Wade became the big brother LeBron needed.”

LeBron James did not have a championship to his name in 2010 when he teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the Big Three era with the Heat. The team would win rings in 2012 and 2013 before James returned to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014.

Of course, James has since won two more championships–one with the Cavaliers and now one with the Lakers–without Wade and Bosh by his side; however, it's certainly fair to argue that his time in Miami benefited his career in a way that staying put in Cleveland would not have.