“He has turned into the ultimate solo act, he is actually Russell Westbrook without KD in Oklahoma” - Skip Bayless believes LeBron James is perfectly positioned to win the scoring title
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has come under scrutiny this season despite top-notch performances. He has been accused of playing for numbers as the Lakers' tumultuous campaign continues.
On Fox Sports' morning show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, Skip Bayless accused King James of turning into his superstar teammate Russell Westbrook and playing for statistics rather than wins. Bayless said:
"He's turned into the ultimate solo act. He is actually Russell Westbrook without KD in Oklahoma City. He's just gone total solo. He's going to average affectively a triple-double for the whole season, except in this case his triple-double is going to be win the scoring title and he's perfectly positioned as we speak."
Russell Westbrook was notoriously known for "stat-padding" during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The superstar guard recorded triple-doubles for fun but didn't go far in the postseason since the departure of Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors.
King James has been accused of doing the same as the Lakers continue to free fall and will potentially not even make the play-in tournament this year.
"LeBron has turned into the ultimate solo act. He is Russell Westbrook without KD in OKC."
— @RealSkipBayless on LeBron's quest to win the scoring title https://t.co/Myx94sSNtm
LeBron James' 19th season in the NBA
LeBron James, throughout his illustrious career, has earned the moniker of being an iron man. He is in his 19th season and has hardly had a serious injury. This has also translated to his performances as King James is still very much the king of the NBA's mountaintop at age 37.
It's almost unfathomable to even think of a player being in his 19th season in the league to be competing for the scoring title, but King James is doing so. He leads the league in scoring at the moment by averaging over 30 points per game and is battling with the likes of Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant for the scoring title.
Through 37,000, LeBron James is now the youngest player to reach every round number milestone in pts:
1K, 2K, 3K, 4K, 5K, 6K, 7K, 8K, 9K, 10K, 11K, 12K, 13K, 14K, 15K, 16K, 17K, 18K, 19K, 20K, 21K, 22K, 23K, 24K, 25K, 26K, 27K, 28K, 29K, 30K, 31K, 32K, 33K, 34K, 35K, 36K, 37K https://t.co/esbAUuLoia
What makes this even more remarkable is that James is being played as the center by coach Frank Vogel. That's uncharted territory for him. Yet, he is still averaging 30.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. He is shooting over 52.0% from the field and nearly 36% from beyond the arc.
James has averaged a career-high number of shots (8 per game) from beyond the arc this season as he is focusing on doing most of his damage from range rather than endurine clanging and banging while attacking the rim inside the arc.
While the Lakers have definitely had a disappointing season with their atrocious defense and lack of chemistry between the players, LeBron James continues to re-write the history books by breaking numerous records and cementing himself as arguably the greatest player of all time.