If the term “hater” exists in the dictionary, it should also feature a photo of Skip Bayless trolling LeBron James. For at least a decade, Bayless has hated on LeBron, no matter what he does, even winning another Olympic gold medal for his country in the recent 2024 Paris games. The sports analyst has criticized the Los Angeles Lakers superstar even before the Olympics started, even calling him “King of the Practice Games.”
Now, like clockwork, Bayless has come after James again, after the NBA's all-time leading scorer won the Olympics MVP. In a recent post on X, formerly Twitter, Bayless uploaded a photo of bootleg Michael Jordan jerseys with a biting caption.
“Walking through a mall in Palm Desert, CA, saw these in an up-front window display. Wait, LeBron just stole–sorry, won–Olympic MVP and this store is featuring Jordan jerseys??? He left Chicago in 1998! Sorry, LeBron, you're still chasing,” Bayless wrote.
Bayless vs. James
While this recent post is an obvious troll attempt, Bayless has hurled some stinging comments against James previously. He criticized the four-time NBA champion for winning the Olympics MVP over longtime rival Stephen Curry, asserting that Team USA would not have defeated Serbia in the semifinal without his heroics.
True enough, Curry exploded for 36 points in that game, pacing the team as they came back from a 17-point deficit to beat Nikola Jokic and the Serbians 95-91. Moreover, Curry was one bucket shy of beating Carmelo Anthony's all-time Olympic scoring record of 37 points. However, James also put up a triple-double in that game, with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
In the gold medal game, the Lakers star nearly had another triple-double, finishing with a statline of 14 points, six rebounds, and ten assists. Throughout the 2024 Olympics, James also averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists. The 39-year-old has proven yet again that he has mastered every aspect of basketball and perfected his natural ability to control a game besides scoring, which might not translate well to a high-speed TV broadcast.
Coming home to the Lakers
Still, Skip Bayless might find more things to criticize LeBron for as he returns to his NBA team for his 22nd season. The Lakers have had a relatively quiet offseason, which has prompted fans and analysts to say that the front office has wasted him and All-Star teammate Anthony Davis. After winning the 2020 championship, the franchise has practically imploded a contending 2021 roster by trading for Russell Westbrook, which they are still recovering from.
While the Lakers did reach the Western Conference Finals in 2023, the team still has a mountain of work to do. It's understandable for fans to get mad when the team has spent over a month doing nothing but drafting Bronny James and hiring JJ Redick as new head coach. Chasing his fifth title with this Lakers roster might be too much of a challenge for LeBron James himself.
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