LeBron James ‘did not want to participate’ in Game 1 playoffs, controversially claims Skip Bayless 

The four-time MVP managed just two points in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets continued their dominance over them with the 114-103 first-leg victory. Skip Bayless, at some point in his show, labeled his performance as “lifeless.”

And while it’s a team sport, the way the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic rallied back showed how unbeatable they have become in their quest to become back-to-back champions; LeBron James needs to show why he is the King and put the Nuggets in their place. However, he needs his teammates to step up when called upon. 

Skip Bayless also called LeBron James an embarrassment 

The Los Angeles Lakers gave up a 12-point advantage during the first leg of their playoff game against the Denver Nuggets to lose again to the Nuggets. Bayless would never let James off the hook as he called him a “diva” who avoids the big moments, something Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan would never do, and went further to say that he isn’t the GOAT. 

How can anybody watch something like that and think this guy was the GOAT? Do you think Kobe [Bryant] would have done that? Do you think [Michael] Jordan would have done that? It was just an embarrassment...It was just so LeBron James. Skip Bayless said via X

While it is generally believed that James and the Lakers have to defeat the Nuggets if they are to be considered serious contenders, dropping their standards as they did in the second half and especially the fourth quarter of the game can’t happen again. 

James, in the first leg, ended the game with 27 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. And whatever the outcome of the second leg is, he has to prove that he has what it takes to guide his team past their obvious Achilles heel and give his all as the best scorer in the history of the game.