LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, often pitted against Michael Jordan in the ever-changing GOAT debate. While James has received considerable support from his fans, analysts like Skip Bayless have routinely found ways to eliminate him from the conversation.
At 41, LeBron James has achieved a great many things over the course of his professional career. While taking a backseat with the Los Angeles Lakers has also proven extremely fruitful for James and the team, Skip Bayless explained how this disqualified James from the GOAT debate on a recent episode of “The Arena” podcast.
Bayless: “Accepting this role [third option] is disqualifying you from being the GOAT, right?”
Young: “He’s 41. So what did Jordan’s coming back to the Wizards qualify him?”
McCants: “He never resorted to the third option. He wasn’t the third option!”
Young: “He never made the playoffs! He was a doormat.”
As Nick Young and Rashad McCants went back and forth, Bayless stayed in his place. But it was abundantly clear that he had gotten the ball rolling.
Much of the argument between Young and McCants revolved around Jordan’s role once he returned to play for the Washington Wizards.
In the 2001-02 season, Michael Jordan was three years removed from his last title run with the Chicago Bulls. At 38, he was averaging 22.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 41.6% from the field. While these are solid figures, Jordan was a shadow of his former self.
Jordan retired shortly after at the age of 39. Given that he didn’t make the playoffs with the Wizards and the stories from his former teammates in Washington, it is apparent that his tenure with the team wasn’t very fruitful.
On the other hand, LeBron James, while still capable of dominating during certain stretches, opted for a different approach.
LeBron James made a surprising adjustment earlier in March by embracing a secondary role with the Lakers. This effectively gave Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves more latitude to dictate the flow of the game, and since then, the Lakers have enjoyed an 11-1 record.
During this span, James is averaging 18.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game while shooting 55.0% from the field and 31.8% from three-point range. While this has been a notable drop-off in his production this season, LeBron James has arguably been a more impactful player.
Although sources like Stephen A. Smith have suggested that James’ decision to embrace such a role has actually improved his case to be the GOAT, it is apparent that Bayless’ allegiance remains with Michael Jordan.
The analyst also took a shot at LeBron James recently, suggesting that the 41-year-old would accept the Lakers’ lowball offer next season to avoid a bigger role with the Knicks or the Cavs. In a way, Skip Bayless may be right in assuming that James could return to L.A. Unfortunately, his reasoning would come across as quite hollow if the superstar can impact winning in a way that positions the Lakers as title contenders.
