"I'm not trying to tear him down because he does that himself" - Skip Bayless on the chatter about him building a career by taking shots at LeBron James, addresses "facts" about the Lakers' star's shortcomings

Skip Bayless has been accused of building his career by being critical of LeBron James' career. Although the 37-year-old has never responded to any of Bayless' comments, the co-host of "Undisputed" never misses a chance to fire his shots at the King.

The 2021-22 season did not go as planned for the LA Lakers. However, LeBron James had a stellar individual season, averaging 30.3 PPG. Despite putting up historic numbers while being a man in the twilight years of his career, Bayless constantly found ways to criticize James.

On his latest episode of "The Skip Bayless Show," the 70-year-old, once again, spoke about the "Kid from Akron." He pointed out how LeBron failed to deliver in the clutch. He said:

"Facts are the facts, since LeBron joined the league, nobody has missed more late and close game free throws than LeBron has. He's missed 17. Next on that list is his former teammate JR Smith at eight.

"Nobody since LeBron's joined the league has missed more late and close shots either from two or three... although Russ has missed a few more from three, Westbrick, but the truth is, I guess I'm one of the few who's pointed those things out."

Bayless also commented on LeBron James' performance in the 2021-22 season. Undoubtedly, it was one of his best seasons offensively since he made his way into the league. However, Bayless stated the four-time champ was inefficient when it came to making three-pointers and free throws.

"I'm not trying to tear him down because he does that himself. He tears himself down by missing all those threes and missing all those FTs, but just this past regular season, LeBron finished 93rd in the NBA in three-point shooting, while taking the 15th most three-point shots. That math doesn't work for me," said Bayless, while talking about James.

Skip Bayless states LeBron James did as much damage as Russell Westbrook did to the Lakers last season

Los Angeles Lakers v Miami Heat

LeBron James was arguably the best player for the LA Lakers last season. He did face a few injury problems at the beginning of the year, but as games went by James started showing up. With Russell Westbrook also on the roster, the Purple and Gold were expected to contend for the title.

But things didn't go as planned for the seventeen-time champions. Westbrook had an abysmal season, where he only averaged 18.5 PPG. The 33-year-old was unable to adjust to the lineup. This cost the team a place in the playoffs. However, Skip Bayless placed some of that blame on LeBron James as well.

The veteran analyst read out James' stats from three-point range and the free throw line. He shot 35.9% from three-point range and 75.6% from the free-throw line. Both these figures were above his career average. Bayless, however, did not want to miss a chance to tarnish LeBron James.

"So, in some ways, LeBron did as much as damage to last year's Lakers as Russell Westbrook did. I'm not making any of this up, not exaggerating."

Bayless' take is a bizarre one because James seemed to be the only player that was able to produce on the offensive end. The eighteen-time All-Star brought in his best every night. Although Russell Westbrook played 78 games, he wasn't able to initiate offense or make plays like he previously did in his career.

The media often puts a lot of blame for the Lakers' failed season on Russ. However, the team had a lot more underlying problems, which led to their disappointing season. But mentioning LeBron James as one of the reasons for their failure doesn't make much sense. It only comes out as yet another attempt by Bayless to fire shots at James.