Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless really went off the rails on this one.
Bayless ripped into the Los Angeles Lakers after their 123—113 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, and he saved his harshest words for none other than LeBron James.
James, who finished the night with 28 points and 12 assists, appeared to criticize the officiating when discussing the Lakers’ free throw attempts compared to that of the Suns. He told reporters after the game, “I know, definitely, I got hit a couple times when I got to the paint tonight that wasn’t called. But it is what it is.”
Bayless basically laughed off James’s complaints and instead argued that James didn’t get calls because “he’s a lousy free throw shooter.”
“Do you know how terrible it is to shoot 73.5% when you are the all-time leading scorer in the history of the league?” Bayless said on Undisputed on Monday. “He’s not even Michael Jordan at the free throw line because Michael shot 84%. How do you not improve over 21 years? And that’s what’s happening. That’s why he doesn’t get calls.”
“It’s inexcusable.”@RealSkipBayless on the Lakers giving up 45 1st quarter points to the Suns pic.twitter.com/CdfF59Ge9f
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 26, 2024
Bayless continued, “[James] is going to the free throw line yesterday and he makes one of four. I have told you that he deserves more calls than he gets, but his free throw shooting is still so pathetic—I’m not going to give him a pass today because he brought it up. He said, ‘I think the narrative is we get to the free throw line.’ The narrative is that you’re right at your career average from the free throw line, and it’s pathetic.”
Undisputed co-host Keyshawn Johnson had to stop for a minute and dissect the thin line of reasoning behind Bayless’s take.
Johnson incredulously asked, “You’re gonna tell me [the refs] reward you, that because you make free throws they’re going to call fouls for you?”
Bayless replied, “Absolutely.”
File that into the overflowing archive of Bayless’s most controversial takes.
