Skip Bayless accuses LeBron James of faking sprained MCL as excuse after elimination

Not long after the LA Lakers were eliminated from the postseason, it was revealed that LeBron James suffered an MCL sprain in his left knee. In light of this news, one longtime analyst isn't fully buying the idea that the 21-time All-Star is dealing with such an injury.

After acquiring Luka Doncic and climbing to third in the Western Conference, the Lakers had big aspirations in the postseason. However, they did not come close to achieving their goals. Facing off against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one, LA was sent home in five games in a major upset.

On Wednesday morning, Skip Bayless touched on the LeBron James injury news during the latest episode of his podcast. He isn't buying this story, stating it only came about to provide an excuse for him coming up short in the playoffs.

"Another LeBron playoff flameout," Bayless said. "Followed by another leaked and planted excuse for said flameout. He and his inner circle just did it again. Rich Paul, you are the all-time greatest at excuse planting with key media members. Never seen anything quite like this."

According to the reporting, LeBron suffered this injury during the fourth quarter of the Lakers' Game 5 loss to the Timberwolves. His projected timeline for recovery is anywhere between three and five weeks.

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Skip Bayless shuts down notion of LeBron James retiring

Now at the age of 40, there is no telling how many more years LeBron James has left in the NBA. After speaking on the subject following the Lakers' playoff exit, Skip Bayless quickly shut down any idea of him not being back in 2026.

LeBron always stated one of his biggest goals at this stage of his career was to play alongside his son, and he achieved that this season. When faced with the question of how much longer he plans on going, the star forward couldn't give a definitive answer.

"I don't have an answer to that. Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens," LeBron said.

Comments like this quickly had the basketball world buzzing, but Bayless wasn't buying it. He feels LeBron James will announce his retirement way ahead of time so he can have a farewell tour similar to Kobe Bryant.

LeBron has a player option worth $52.6 million that he can opt into if he chooses. Even with this injury, it seems unlikely that he'll walk away now. Having a full season to play alongside Doncic and sculpt the roster to fit them should give the Lakers way better chances of competing for a title. Also, as one of the game's greatest talents, LeBron is more than deserving of a proper sendoff.