When Cold Pizza and First Take debuted on ESPN2 during the early 2000s, several sports fans were captivated by a relatively unknown commentator from Oklahoma named Skip Bayless. His brutally honest opinion about two of the country’s most famous athletes, LeBron James and Terrell Owens, made him a compelling watch because, up until that point, very few journalists dared to challenge superstars consistently on network television–those actions were primarily reserved for radio hosts and sports columnists. Nearly two decades later, both men could make a “GOAT discussion” case regarding their respective fields. Over the years, Lebron’s uniforms and Skip’s employer have changed, but one modification Skip doesn’t seem to be fond of is LeBron’s recent jersey switch from #6 back to #23, a number made famous by Michael Jordan all over the world.
The co-creator of Undisputed on FS1 recently took to Instagram to challenge the NBA’s all-time leading scorer by calling him “thin-skinned,” “insecure,” and a “blame-deflecting diva” before outlining his shortcomings in the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. From there, Skip critiqued LeBron’s speech from the 2023 ESPY Awards before dropping a hot take about his decision to switch his jersey number for the second time since signing with the Lakers in 2018. The award-winning journalist also indicated that LeBron is switching back to #23 because he’s chasing Jordan’s legacy. Many pundits believe that when the Lakers’ great Kobe Bryant changed his number from #8 to #24, it also signified a pursuit of Jordan’s NBA crown.
Source: Instagram
