Skip Bayless takes another bold dig at LeBron James - “All-Stars will make sure LeBron, in Year 19, wins All-Star Game MVP”
NBA and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James earned his 18th All-Star selection this year and to make matters even more special, it is being held in Cleveland, his native.
However, sports media personality Skip Bayless believes that King James will win the All-Star Game MVP and will be made sure of that by the other All-Stars participating in the game. Bayless took to Twitter and wrote:
"Now all the other All-Stars will make sure LeBron, in Year 19, wins All-Star Game MVP in his return to Cleveland. Book it."
King James is yet to taste defeat as the captain of his All-Star team and has the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry by his side, making it a daunting prospect for Kevin Durant's team to matchup against, especially without the Brooklyn Nets star who is still recovering from a knee injury.
Kareem-Abdul Jabbar leads the tally in the most All-Star selections with 19 and LeBron James, who achieved his 18th selection this year, will be eyeing that record next season as he is currently tied with Kobe Bryant at the moment.
Now all the other All-Stars will make sure LeBron, in Year 19, wins All-Star Game MVP in his return to Cleveland. Book it.
LeBron James and his 19th season in the league
After turning 37 in December, LeBron James has been a one-man wrecking crew this season for the Lakers as their championship aspirations continue to hang in the balance. However, the precarious position the 27-31 Lakers find themselves in is in not James' fault, as he continues to defy age and logic in year 19.
James is currently averaging 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while shooting the ball better than 52% from the field and a little over 35% from beyond the arc for the Lakers. He has recorded four triple-doubles and 15 double-doubles for the L.A.-based franchise this season. Despite recording a career-high number of attempts from the perimeter per game (7.9), he is still shooting better than his career average from deep, with 2.8 made threes per game. But despite these incredible numbers, they haven't necessarily translated into wins for the Lakers this campaign.
If LeBron James continues at a pace of 25.0 PPG, playing roughly 75 games per season, he would be NBA's all-time leading scorer in 2022-23.
One of the primary reasons why the Purple and Gold haven't meshed well is down to the lack of chemistry between James and Russell Westbrook. The injury-stricken Anthony Davis has also not helped proceedings this season as he has missed a huge chunk of time this season (21 games) due to injury.
LeBron James is having an MVP caliber season, but because of the poor record held by the Lakers, he could fall out of contention. If the Lakers are able to pull things together, then perhaps we could see a late surge towards the end of the season and a deep run in the playoffs for the Purple and Gold.