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The LA Lakers have shut down LeBron James for the remainder of the season because of his ankle injury, the team announced Friday.
The forward was second in the NBA in scoring, averaging 30.3 points per game, but will not have enough games to qualify for the scoring title. Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid leads the league at 30.4 ppg.
Going by NBA rules, James needed to play at least 58 games to be eligible for the scoring title. He has only played 56 games. With this in mind, the news of his season ending has been met with massive backlash, and Skip Bayless is not excluded.
The ESPN analyst took to his Twitter page to react. Bayless referred to James' ankle injury as an "excuse." Bayless said James' desire to maintain his "narrative" became more important than becoming the scoring champion.
"The ankle excuse apparently became even more important than the scoring title," Bayless tweeted.
In another tweet, Bayless called LBJ and the LA Lakers "one-hit bubble wonders," as he trolled them for their poor outing this season:
"LeGone and the Fakers: One-hit Bubble wonders."
Los Angeles has had two losing seasons in four with James. Despite the 2020 championship in the bubble, the franchise has finished with a losing record in seven of its past nine seasons.
LeBron James exits the scoring champion race
LeBron James has missed the LA Lakers' last three outings, owing to an ankle sprain. If he played in the last two games of the season, he could qualify to be in the race to be scoring champion. The title could have been some form of solace to the Lakers Nation, owing to the team's play-in elimination.
Unfortunately, the 37-year old All-Star has been ruled out for the rest of the season in order to recover. His absence in the will leave the contest solely for Joel Embiid (30.4 ppg) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (29.9 ppg).
With Embiid seemingly looking like the soon-to-be scoring champion, there's a slim chance the Greek Freak could snatch the title.
The Milwaukee Bucks visit the Detroit Pistons on Friday night and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. The 76ers host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night and the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
