![\"LeBron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2271022663-e1778555395111.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Skip Bayless calls out LeBron again<\/p>\n
Skip Bayless renewed his criticism of LeBron James this week, doubling down on his controversial all-time NBA rankings while the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> face elimination in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bayless defended placing James ninth on his all-time list and said the backlash from fans only strengthened his belief in the ranking.<\/p>\n Bayless originally shared his list during an appearance on ESPN\u2019s \u201cFirst Take,\u201d ranking Michael Jordan first and placing Magic<\/a> Johnson, Shaquille O\u2019Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant, and Larry Bird ahead of James. He later expanded on those comments in a video posted to social media.<\/p>\n The debate came as the Lakers entered Game 4 trailing Oklahoma City 3-0 in the series. James, now in his 22nd NBA season at age 41, continues to face questions about his future while Los Angeles attempts to avoid a playoff sweep.<\/p>\n Skip Bayless Doubles Down on LeBron James Ranking<\/p>\n Bayless said he has consistently ranked James ninth for years and questioned why fans reacted so strongly after his latest ESPN appearance.<\/p>\n Tell me where I\u2019m wrong about LeBron because I just don\u2019t get it. I\u2019m amused by the backlash. And the truth is, the God\u2019s truth is I think when I put LeBron at No. 9 that people react so strongly because deep deep down at the very bottom of their psyche, they know I\u2019m right. <\/p>\n \u201cI have ranked LeBron number nine for years,\u201d Bayless said. \u201cI\u2019m amused by the backlash.\u201d<\/p>\n Bayless also defended his belief that the players ahead of James were more dependable in high-pressure moments.<\/p>\n \u201cOne game for my life, I will take any of the eight players I rank above him,\u201d Bayless said.<\/p>\n He described the players above James as \u201ccold blooded basketball killers\u201d and criticized what he called James\u2019 lack of clutch performances throughout his career.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most mentally, psychologically fragile superstar ever,\u201d Bayless said. \u201cAnd it ain\u2019t even close.\u201d<\/p>\n Bayless also pointed to James\u2019 free-throw shooting during the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n \u201cHe ranked this year in free throw shooting 104th in the league,\u201d Bayless said. \u201cIt\u2019s pathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n The longtime sports commentator later addressed the reaction to his comments directly.<\/p>\n \u201cTell me where I\u2019m wrong about LeBron because I just don\u2019t get it,\u201d Bayless said. \u201cI think when I put LeBron at No. 9 that people react so strongly because deep down at the very bottom of their psyche, they know I\u2019m right.\u201d<\/p>\n Los Angeles Lakers Face Elimination Against Oklahoma City Thunder GettyLos Angeles Lakers Head coach JJ Redick and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James<\/p>\n The timing of Bayless\u2019 comments comes as the Lakers attempt to stay alive against the defending champion Thunder.<\/p>\n Los Angeles trails the series 3-0 after losing the first three games by an average margin of nearly 20 points. Head coach JJ Redick said the Lakers are focused on staying mentally prepared entering Monday\u2019s elimination game.<\/p>\n \u201cOur first slide that we put up in training camp was win the day,\u201d Redick said after practice. \u201cToday was a quick offensive review and then just going over some stuff defensively. Got to win today and we got to win tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n Redick also acknowledged the challenge of facing a 3-0 deficit, something no NBA team has ever overcome in a best-of-seven series.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing on the Lakers, you feel like your back\u2019s against the wall every game,\u201d Redick said.<\/p>\n James has continued to play heavy minutes during the series despite Oklahoma City\u2019s depth and defensive pressure. Rui Hachimura said the Lakers are still approaching the series one game at a time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy, but I think that\u2019s the mentality we need,\u201d Hachimura said. \u201cWe have to keep the same energy the whole game.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lakers have managed to limit reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander statistically in the series, but Oklahoma City has still controlled games behind strong performances from Chet Holmgren and Ajay Mitchell.<\/p>\n James is under contract for one more season with Los Angeles. Prediction markets have also fueled discussion about whether the four-time NBA champion could retire after the postseason, though no official decision has been made.<\/p>\n For now, the focus remains on Game 4, where the Lakers will attempt to extend their season while Bayless\u2019 latest comments continue to generate debate across the NBA world.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDebayan Biswas<\/a> is a sports writer covering the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He focuses on breaking news, trades, and player stories. His work has been featured by Athlon Sports and Pro Football and Sports Network, with republication across platforms including Yahoo Sports and Yardbarker. More about Debayan Biswas<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Skip Bayless calls out LeBron again Skip Bayless renewed his criticism of LeBron James this week, doubling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-437416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Head](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-22753763131.jpg\")
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