With the recently concluded Super Bowl LVI, the city of Los Angeles has new champions in town. The LA Rams wrapped up only a second title in their history, in a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The star-studded Californian city is also home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Both teams have won their respective championships as recently as 2020. And LeBron James thinks a joint parade is a way to celebrate.
We, Dodgers and Rams should all do a joint parade together!!!! With a live concert afterwards to end it!! City of Champions 🏆🏆🏆💍💍💍. Congrats 🐏 once again!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 14, 2022
The idea of celebrating a championship victory 2 years later certainly does sound ludicrous, if not inexcusable with regards to the Lakers’ abysmal current form. But none has been more vocal about it than the man himself, Skip Bayless.
Skip Bayless discussed LeBron’s proposal on his show, Skip and Shannon: Undisputed on Fox Sports 1. Known to vehemently oppose LeBron, Skip ranted to Shannon Sharpe about LeBron James yet again.
LeBron wants a joint parade with Rams, Lakers, Dodgers
"LeBron: you gotta wake up, man. You won a Pandemic Bubble Championship." — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/G4tLwwrYMk
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) February 15, 2022
“Does your man have no shame? Does it ever end for this man? Wanting to somehow associate with someone else’s victory?”
Skip went on to question the legitimacy of the Lakers’ title won in the 2020 NBA Bubble, a favorite topic amongst many LeBron detractors. “LeBron, you gotta wake up, man. You won a Pandemic Bubble Championship!”.
While any argument discrediting a championship win is disrespectful and should not be taken seriously Skip Bayless did make some notable points.
Lakers and LeBron James living in the past?
“He’s living in the past.”, asserted Skip Bayless earlier in the same segment and you can’t help but think he’s right.“LeBron led them to the championship over a Miami Heat team that was the 5th team in the East and lost Goran Dragic, who was their leading scorer in the playoffs.”
Skip’s claims of the Lakers getting an easy team in the NBA Finals is disrespectful to a depleted Miami Heat team. But where Bayless does make a rational argument is his probe into the Lakers’ state since then.
“What has happened since then? Last year, you were in the play-in tournament and managed to squeak out of it into a matchup with Phoenix. And in Game 5, at Phoenix, you wind up losing 115-85.”
The Los Angeles Lakers’ poor form has continued into this season, despite the acquisition of 2016-17 NBA MVP Russell Westbrook and former All-Star Carmelo Anthony. It will take another Herculean effort by LeBron James to inspire his team to another playoff tournament.