"It was just a pathetic choke job" - Skip Bayless tears LeBron James apart for his free-throw struggles in the clutch against Warriors
LeBron James has come under immense scrutiny and criticism after missing free throws in the LA Lakers' loss against the Golden State Warriors.
Sports media personality Skip Bayless tore into the superstar for missing free throws that would have tied the matchup at the end of the game. On Fox Sports' "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," Bayless said:
"I have said for years and years on national television that LeBron James has one glaring flaw, a flaw that disqualifies him from any GOAT debate that you would like to thrust him into – he is the worst the late game superstar free-throw shooter we have ever seen."
Bayless continued:
"It was just a pathetic choke job. He wanted no part of this. He didn't shoot it with any conviction. It was like painful to watch."
With the Lakers down by three, "King James" went to the free-throw line with three shots to potentially tie the game and take it to overtime. However, James missed his first free throw. That meant he had to convert his second shot, miss his third and hope to get the rebound and a get a shot off before the game ended.
LeBron James and his free throw woes
Arguably the greatest player of all time, LeBron James has one major chink in his armor, and that is his ability from the free-throw line. "King James" is a notoriously bad free-throw shooter for the entirety of his illustrious career spanning nearly two decades.
For his career, James shoots 73.4% from the line and has not shot better than 78% in any of his 19 seasons. James is averaging over 27 points per game in his career, and those percentages are below average for someone of his standards.
LeBron James has now scored more points than any other player in league history between the regular season and playoffs combined. The record-setting bucket: https://t.co/o43WjumoPP
This season, he is shooting 74.6% from the line, and that is considered to be one of his better years in the league. The most shocking number was his first season with the Lakers in which he shot only 66.5% from the line albeit having played in only 55 games.
It isn't necessarily attributed to wilting to the pressure of the moment as he is a bad free-throw shooter irrespective of the time on the clock. He is rumored to have worked on it throughout his career, but that has not translated to on-court success.
Based on his 27.0 career points per game, LeBron would set the NBA points record on 2022-23 Opening Night twitter.com/SNstats/status…
It could very well be down to the fact that he can't control the strength in his arms as many players who possessed incredible strength still struggled from the line, like Shaquille O'Neal and Wilt Chamberlain.
James does not possess the shooter's touch like Steph Curry or Kyrie Irving. He relies on his strength even while launching from distance rather than having the proper balance as he often tilts towards his left while shooting. His form has been questioned as he doesn't bend his knees enough. All these reasons make for a bad free-throw shooter.