The Los Angeles Lakers winning the In-Season tournament was very promising for Laker fans, who were skeptical about the current roster. While the LA unit has made history by winning the first IST championship, they continue to get criticized for considering it as an achievement, although it is one. The latest entry to the club was unsurprisingly, one of LeBron James‘ most ardent haters.

Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless believes that Michael Jordan would have found the In-Season championship to be “cute”. Why so? One, it is Mike’s “favorite word”, according to Bayless. And two, it is a petty achievement to be happy about, again according to Skip himself. 

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A fan questioned Bayless if the Chicago Bulls legend would have cared about the IST. The 72-year-old replied in his podcast, “He[Jordan] would have said, ‘Oh. They are gonna make this plan, in-season tournament? That’s cute.’ That’s what he would have said. He would have used it dismissively.”

Following the condescension, Skip Bayless returned the spotlight to the greatness of his favorite player, “And you know what he [Jordan] would have done, however many they would have played through his career if they had this year after year, he would have won it every single year.“

Unfortunately, Skip Bayless is not the only one who criticized LeBron and Co. for celebrating the In-Season Tournament. Even the ‘Inside Guys’ from TNT chimed in.

Charles Barkley and LA champion Shaquille O’Neal do not approve of the celebration 

After winning the first In-Season MVP award, LeBron James decided to pop a bottle. Charles Barkley warned the Lakers right after the team celebrated their mini-championship with champagne too. The 1993 MVP shared in an interview, “You don’t do champagne for the In-Season Tournament…if they put that In-Season Tournament banner up, I’m going to roast them on television.”

Well, that did not stop the franchise from putting up a banner. This is when Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal decided to chime in. Shaq, who was the reason for 3 of the 18 banners up there, believes the IST championship is just a “decoration”. He also added, “This is just an ornament…All the other original banners are gold. They won the In-season championship… It’s not a banner, it’s a decoration“.

Read more: “We Got to Focus On the Season”: Austin Reaves Urges the Lakers to Focus On Raising a Different Banner After In-Season Victory

It’s indeed tough being a Lakers fan right now. In addition to all of the above criticism, the Lakers are now on a three-game losing streak, which has raised doubts about their season again. Do you think the In-season championship is worth putting up a banner? Share your take in the comments below.