Skip Bayless and LeBron James. Credits: Imago and Instagram.

Undisputed’s Skip Bayless is known to be one of the biggest LeBron James detractors out there. Seen for years to be firmly of the opinion that Michael Jordan was the obvious GOAT over James, Bayless has been guilty of being a bit too harsh on LeBron multiple times. Around 3 years ago, Bayless had gone on a rant against LeBron when MJ was chosen as the best player to ever wear the #23 by The Athletic.

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Talking about Shannon Sharpe’s differing take on the James-MJ debate, Bayless had said it was laughable to even try to make the case. He claimed that Jordan, owing to his individual achievements and team dominance, was the one true GOAT and LeBron was simply not in the same category.

On the event of MJ’s 60th birthday, Bayless again attacked Shannon Sharpe for trying to use James’ longevity as a GOAT credential. Bayless claimed that while LeBron had worked “off-the-court” much more than MJ, his NBA legacy does not compare.

Bayless claimed that while LeBron’s takes on politics, society, and other issues such as racial discrimination are worth listening to, that did not make him a better player than Jordan. Bayless said that MJ deliberately did not want to take the path that James did, and chose to be silent about things not related to basketball.

However, as far as the debate is concerned, Bayless has for the longest time seemed to have had a clear answer, Michael Jordan. Recently, however, things might have slightly changed. LeBron was proclaimed by Bayless to be the greatest driver the game has ever seen. Claiming that it was not even close, Bayless lauded James’ basketball IQ and said he was like a freight train driving to the hoop.

This is in addition to even more recent praise that Bayless dished out for the Lakers’ superstar. Talking about James’ longevity, Bayless said that he had never seen a player more durable than LeBron, throughout the league’s history.

Responding to the Undisputed clip related to his initial comments, he retweeted the post on X and claimed that what James was doing had never been done across sports. “What LeBron is doing is eclipsing what anybody else has done in any other sport,” Bayless claimed.

Hence, while Bayless has always had an obvious answer to arguably the most common debate in modern NBA, things appear to have recently changed. The fact that James continues to dominate game after game, even at the age of 38, therefore appears to have resulted in a bit of a U-turn for an analyst famous for his takes against James over the years.

Shannon Sharpe claimed Skip Bayless genuinely hates LeBron James

While Bayless has been a regular James detractor, Shannon Sharpe is firmly on the other end of the spectrum. The former NFL star has always been appreciative of LeBron and has been in multiple heated debates with Bayless over the player.

Speaking on the ‘First We Feast’ YouTube channel, Sharpe had claimed that Bayless simply hated LeBron. “That he hates LeBron. He sincerely believes that LeBron is – he thinks LeBron is great, don’t get me wrong. He thinks LeBron is great, but he thinks Kobe, he thinks Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, are just greater. And he’s just terribly, terribly, sadly mistaken,” he said.

Therefore, according to Sharpe, while Bayless appreciates the player James is, he is firmly of the opinion that multiple players from the past were better.

Of course, while there have been quite a few questionable takes by Bayless with respect to James, things have surely changed recently, if only ever so slightly.