Skip Bayless believes everything is set for LeBron James to win his 4th NBA title and the first for the Lakers since 2010. The sports analyst has been one of the biggest detractors of the King and he doesn’t miss a single change to throw shade at the 35-year-old player.
On Friday’s edition of FS1’s Undisputed, Bayless claimed the NBA set up the path for LeBron James to make it to the Finals. The league was shutdown last March 12 after Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and is ready to make its return at the end of this month. Bayless believes this will be the easiest path to the Finals in LeBron’s career.
“This will be the easiest path to a championship LeBron has ever had in his career,” Bayless said. “I don’t wanna hear any excuses from across the table because he’s first in and the last out, he’s healthy, he’s happy, he’s got the best team and here we go.”
Plenty of Lakers players have praised LeBron for his work ethic and all the hard work he’s put during the shutdown.
“[LeBron] is in the gym early, he’s leaving late and he’s the last guy working – and probably working the longest and the hardest. He hasn’t changed at all, man,” Danny Green said.
“[LeBron] is the leader. He’s the alpha. But he’s 50-50. He jokes just as much as he’s serious. He keeps it really even balanced, so for him, he’s ready for this moment. You can tell. You can see it in his beard that he’s ready,” said Jared Dudley.
Bayless sees that as a great opportunity for James. He explained that the five-month break he had will be beneficial for him and his Lakers once the season resumes in Orlando.
One could argue that helped other teams and players, like the Clippers, who had several players who needed some rest. The Philadelphia 76ers got Ben Simmons back after suffering a back injury and there are more cases like that. Sure, LeBron really took advantage of his time off, but it was the same situation for the other 29 teams in the NBA.
Before the shutdown, James was averaging 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 0.4 blocks and 10.6 assists per game, while shooting at 49.8 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from beyond the arc.
