Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James found himself in the middle of some unwanted controversy this week when ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams called the four-time MVP a “Pippen” during his days in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — meaning he was playing second fiddle during the Heat’s championship runs.
The criticism was a ricochet shot stemming off James’ former teammate, Richard Jefferson, calling Milwaukee Bucks superstar and soon to be two-time MVP Giannis Antentekumpo the next Scottie Pippen, who is known as the best No. 2 player in NBA history as Michael Jordan’s wingman.
The Los Angeles Lakers star took to Twitter to voice his displeasure.
“Explain to me what the fux I gotta do with this subject matter!” James wrote. “I’m over here minding my damn business preparing for Houston. And by the way I ain’t never been nobody but my damn self! S***!”
@RealJayWilliams Explain to me what the fux I gotta do with this subject matter! I’m over here minding my damn business preparing for Houston. And by the way I ain’t never been nobody but my damn self! 👑 Shit!
Skip Bayless: LeBron Should Have Let it Lay
James has all the right in the world to defend himself on the topic, but his long-time media rival Skip Bayless thought “The King” should have just kept to himself.
“LeBron did not need to acknowledge this. He didn’t need to validate it or fuel the controversy,” Bayless ranted on FS1’s Undisputed. “Just let it lay!”
That’s not to say Bayless disagreed with the take.
“LeBron was a Batman with Robin intangibles in Cleveland. He needed Dwyane to be a big brother and say: ‘This is how you do it.’ And it took a while. LeBron obviously melted down and flamed out in the first go-around in Miami against Dallas in the 2011 Finals. Then they figured it out and against Oklahoma City — I call them the Baby Thunder but they still had Harden, Westbrook and Kevin Durant — LeBron broke through and said: ‘It’s about damn time.'”
.@RealSkipBayless on Jay Williams saying LeBron played the Robin role to D Wade:
“LeBron was a Batman with Robin intangibles in Cleveland. He needed Dwyane Wade in Miami to be a big brother and say: ‘This is how you do it.'”
Bayless took it one step further on Twitter, making his favorite comparison between James and Jordan.
“Did Michael Jordan ever flame out in a playoff series the way LeBron did in ’09, ’10, and ’11?” Bayless wrote. “Nobody ever said that about Jordan, even when he wasn’t getting out of the first round.”
Lakers Big Favorites to Advance to Conference Finals
The Lakers enter their second-round series against the Houston as large favorites, going off at -550 to advance, per Bovada.
In their first-round series, the Lakers initially stumbled against the Portland Trail Blazers, dropping Game 1. However, the boys in the purple and gold reeled off the next four straight in fairly dominant fashion, taking the series.
Bayless’ Undisputed co-host Shannon Sharpe has been a big Lakers backer and sees this series going similarly to the last.
“Lakers in five,” Sharpe said. “Anthony Davis and LeBron James are playing at an extremely high level. All they need is for KCP to do what he did the last two games. That’s it. AD and ‘Bron will do the rest.”
.@ShannonSharpe on the Lakers & Rockets series:
“Lakers in 5. Anthony Davis & LeBron James are playing at an extremely high level. All they need is for KCP to do what he did the last 2 games. That’s it. AD & Bron will do the rest.”
It will be an interesting matchup with the Rockets small-ball going up against the Lakers balanced attack. But LA is confident they can dictate the style of play and make Houston adjust.
“It’s going to be different for us, but at the same time we want to make them adjust to us,” Lakers star Anthony Davis told reporters on Thursday. “The same way they try to have teams adjust to them playing small ball. We have to make sure that we dominate them on the offensive glass and also make them adjust to our size.”
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