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By Jayesh Pagar
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The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a strong start.
They beat the Sacramento Kings 116-103 on Thursday and moved to 7-2, second in the Western Conference.
This is their first season without LeBron James, who left in free agency for the Philadelphia 76ers. Now one of his loudest critics has a theory about that split.
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ESPN’s "First Take" posted a clip on X in which Stephen A. Smith asked Skip Bayless whether the Lakers are better off without James.
“Isn’t that obvious to you? I believe that Luka Doncic got sick and tired of having to share the stage with the LeBron James who couldn’t live up to being LeBron James anymore as he hit 40 years old,” Bayless said.
Bayless then turned to James’ eight seasons in Los Angeles, and he wasn’t kind.
“His LA tenure, LeBron’s, was completely overrated. He got pass after pass in LA just because in 2020 in the bubble in Orlando, he won a Mickey Mouse championship,” Bayless said.
In Bayless’ view, Doncic is thriving with the spotlight all to himself. He noted that Doncic got zero MVP votes in the preseason GM survey but is now the favorite.
Doncic is shooting 43% from three and averaging around 38 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
Bayless’ praise for Doncic is backed by the early results. With the ball fully in his hands, Doncic looks comfortable as the lone star, and the Lakers are winning.
His shot at James’ 2020 title is likely to divide fans. Some have long questioned the bubble championship, while others point out that every team played under the same conditions.
The Lakers are only nine games into the season. ESPN Analytics currently gives them a 3% chance to win the West, so how this team holds up over the coming months is still an open question.
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