“Face of the league”— the title every player dreams of holding. An honor that’s been passed down from Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan to LeBron James. Now, with the 40-year-old’s hardwood career nearing its end, the spotlight shifts to the next generational talent. But all of a sudden, the tag doesn’t seem as important. For a while, Anthony Edwards seemed like a natural fit for the title, but he already expressed his disinterest. And that even got a stamp of approval from LeBron for what he believed was a good enough reason.

The confession came from Ant during the media day of All-Star weekend. So naturally, LeBron being the face of the league for two decades was asked about it after their 111-102 victory against the Timberwolves. The 4x champion, without any hesitation, backed Edwards by saying, “Why do you want to be the face of a league all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s— on everybody? To have that responsibility, it’s just weird. It’s weird energy.” LeBron, of course, knew that his remark would make its way to the media personalities, who wouldn’t let it slide. And that’s exactly what happened.

The ever-vocal Skip Bayless took a moment— actually, 12 minutes to share his thoughts on LeBron’s comment. Before diving in, the former Fox columnist apologized. He then explained how his mood was already foul because of the Lakers vs. Clippers game, which was made worse by LeBron’s statement about the media. Bayless even revealed that just a day earlier, he had been praising LeBron’s performance in a video, unaware that the 21-time All-Star was making such a bold comment. After quoting LeBron James, Bayless bluntly responded, “LeBron, Ant-Man doesn’t want to be the face of the league, because he’s not good enough to be the face of the league. Right now, you are good enough to still be the face of the league. Nobody has ever played as well as you have played, obviously, at age 40 in year 22.”

However, there was something that irked the veteran analyst. “This is what steams me about LeBron. It’s always something he’s got a bellyache about. It’s never great enough.” By this time, Bayless’ anger could be seen. “He is the most overprotected basketball superstar we have ever had. He’s not even in the same universe as Michael Jeffrey Jordan. But still, most of the media just falls all over him, protects him, idolizes him, defends him to a fault, when he’s been a lousy shooter all these years.”

Beyond everything, he did admit that LeBron is “the greatest scorer,” which is already a fact, a “great passer,” and “was a great defender.” Suddenly there was a change in his tone and he said, “That’s not enough for LeBron bleeping James. He’s gotta whine. He’s gotta cry. He’s gotta go thin-skinned.”

Skip Bayless could be a late addition to the club, as he wasn’t aware of the comment. But he was just as frustrated with LeBron James as Stephen A. Smith was.

Stephen A. Smith reacts to LeBron James’ controversial remark

A LeBron James controversy without Stephen A. reacting to it? That’s like a party without music. Not possible. So when the topic came up on First Take, Stephen A. kept a straight face and said, “That’s some BS.” But he didn’t throw everything LeBron said out the window. “I understand there’s an enormous amount of pressure that comes with being the face of the league. I get that, but I don’t appreciate what he said. I really, really don’t,” the analyst clarified.

What bothered the 57-year-old analyst was LeBron dragging the media into it and complaining about how they spread negativity. “I’m sick and tired of them acting like everybody’s talking bleep about them all the damn time,” Stephen A. said.

He also reminded LeBron that some former players, who transitioned into analysts, found their way into the media. And let’s not forget, Stephen A. had already criticized LeBron for backing out of the All-Star Game at the last hour, so that definitely came up.

This feels like a recap of what happened a few months ago, leading to LeBron taking a break from social media. Hopefully, he won’t be stepping away again this time. So, are you Team LeBron in this one, or are you rolling with Team Stephen A. and Skip Bayless? Let us know in the comments below!