As one of the NBA’s biggest stars, LeBron James receives a lot of attention in the media which reacts to his every move. LeBron remains the focus of media scrutiny both on the basketball court and off the court. This media spotlight on LeBron is often positive, but also sometimes malignant in nature. A former NBA star recently came to LeBron’s defense against a vocal critic of the Los Angeles Lakers star.
NBA legend Charles Barkley defended LeBron James against one of his most outspoken critics in the media. Barkley criticized Skip Bayless, a known critic of LeBron, on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’. He expressed his disdain for Bayless, who he described as a T.V. personality rejecting the consequences of his words.
Barkley said, “Yeah, but I think the main thing is there are no consequences. There are zero consequences. Like I always laugh when these guys pick like, you know everybody knows I hate Skip Bayless. Because I think he is the king of, ‘I’m just gonna say sh*t, so people will say, they gonna go crazy on me.’ “
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He added saying, “But for me what drives me crazy is like he has missed nine out of 10 games and then he’ll brag about the one upset he got right out of those 10 games. Like, ‘I told you, that team was gonna upset us.’ Like, yo man, you missed the other nine games.”
Barkley himself enjoyed a 16-year stint in the NBA and experienced criticism too for his lack of an NBA title. LeBron is a four-time NBA champion and also won the NBA MVP award four times. With the Lakers, he most recently won the 2020 NBA title.
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Skip Bayless disregards LeBron James’ MVP contribution
LeBron James’ criticism by Skip Bayless on his previous show ‘First Take’, alongside Stephen A. Smith, rocketed the show to notoriety. Bayless, however, left that show in June 2016. He now stars on his show called, ‘Skip and Shannon: Undisputed’ along with Shannon Sharpe. The show debuted on September 6, 2016.
On ‘First Take’, Bayless and Smith once argued that LeBron was not deserving of the NBA’s MVP award back in 2012. It is still considered one of Bayless’ most bizarre opinions considering LeBron’s MVP qualities that season. To LeBron’s credit, he won the MVP award, then won the NBA title with the Miami Heat that season, and was the NBA Finals MVP in the 2011-12 season.
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