LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers. (Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Skip Bayless throws shade at LeBron James during a game the Los Angeles Lakers were not even playing in.
As he was watching the Phoenix Suns take on the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 on Friday night, LeBron James was clearly on the mind of Skip Bayless.
The FS1 sports talk host threw massive shade at the Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward. Bayless was sitting back taking in this Western Conference Semifinals game between No. 2 Phoenix and No. 3 Denver and wondering whatever happened to James? The Lakers fell to Phoenix the round prior in six games, as Los Angeles failed to get out of the first round in its title defense.
Bayless’ not-so-subtle dig at King James is funny, but it could foreshadow something much bigger.
Skip Bayless crushes LeBron James on Twitter in a game he did not even play in
While it is super weird to not see James’ team still completing for an NBA championship, we do have to recognize that he is not the same player he was in Cleveland the second time around or in Miami before that at age-36. James can no longer carry a team to the NBA Finals, as he needs a healthy supporting cast backing him up, as well as another star player he can adequately rely on.
Sadly, his running mate Anthony Davis is incredibly injury-prone and therefore, was unable to take the torch from James this season to carry this underperforming Lakers team. James may have one more NBA championship left in the tank to match Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant at five, but his days of carrying the loathsome burden of a good, but not great basketball team are so over now.
While Bayless’ jab at James on Twitter was hilarious, it signifies a change of the guard in the NBA.