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Following the premiere of “The Last Dance” docuseries, Skip Bayless of FOX Sports 1 was brimming with Michael Jordan drip for his Monday take on the NBA legend.
Known to side with Jordan as the all-time great, Bayless made his latest argument for the title of greatest of all time, noting that LeBron James does not even deserve a seat at the table:
“If you're talking about GOAT, you can't even qualify LeBron for the discussion because he's suffered so many meltdowns that Jordan never would have suffered,” said Bayless. “There's no way Jordan would have come apart the way LeBron did in his last go-around, his first stop in Cleveland when his owner accused him of quitting, as he melted down in Games 4, 5, and 6 against the Celtics [in the Eastern Conference Semifinals) and bowed down ingloriously his first time around in Cleveland and got his jersey burned.”
"You can't even qualify LeBron for the GOAT discussion. He's suffered so many meltdowns that Jordan never would have. There's no way MJ would have come apart the way LeBron did in his first stop in Cleveland when his owner accused him of quitting." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/44k2zLFVpf
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 20, 2020
After listing a slew of defensive accolades, the six-for-six in the NBA Finals and six Finals MVPs to go with them, Bayless proceeded to further shred James for his shortcomings in big moments:
“That never happened to Michael because it couldn't happen. As much as Krause and Reinsdorf resented Michael, in their wildest dreams or nightmares would they ever accuse him of quitting,” he said. “There's no way Michael would have come apart and melted down the way LeBron did in his first Finals with the Heat after they were up 2-1. Obviously from that point 4, 5, and 6, he just shrank. Michael never did that. Michael never shrank down the stretch of a pivotal Game 6 of the 2013 Finals the way LeBron did.”
Jordan never saw a Game 7 in the playoffs, but he and his Chicago Bulls did come short on plenty of other occasions. To his credit, James made the playoffs for 14 straight seasons and went to eight NBA Finals in a row.
However, the point of distinction is how Jordan never went down without a fight and never hesitated to take the game in his hands and go down swinging. The Los Angeles Lakers star deserves to be in the conversation for greatest of all time, but depending on who is picking, he might come short of the golden standard of winning with his track record in big moments.
