The sports world truly has gone topsy-turvy over the past two days. Not only has LeBron James’ longtime defender Stephen A. Smith seemingly turned on the Los Angeles Lakers megastar in the fallout of their heated confrontation on Thursday, one of his biggest critics ever seems to be defending him now.
Taking to X on Friday, longtime sports pundit Jason Whitlock – who has no love for LeBron – accused Smith and his former ESPN partner Skip Bayless of putting LeBron “on the defensive” early in his career by constantly debating his greatness against the likes of Michael Jordan. He accused Bayless of trolling LeBron at the age of 21 and sending him down a path he could never hope to win.
Whitlock ultimately feels that LeBron’s career has been undermined by sports debate television that has “Turned a happy-go-lucky kid angry and defensive.”
“Obviously I’m not a LeBron James homer. Here’s the deal: Skip Bayless, ESPN, Stephen A, and Embrace Debate put LeBron James on the defensive very early in his career. They stunted LeBron’s growth and sent him down the angry victimhood path. Skip started trolling 21-year-old LeBron about Michael Jordan. Skip put LeBron in a fight he could never win. No one else has faced that kind of polarizing discussion. “You ain’t Jordan.” “You ain’t Gretzsky.” “You ain’t Ali.” Mike Tyson didn’t have to be Ali for his greatness to be recognized and fully celebrated. Debate sports TV undermined LeBron and put him on the defensive. Turned a happy-go-lucky kid angry and defensive. Facts are facts. This should be discussed, but it takes too much thought and won’t go viral,” Whitlock wrote.
Obviously I’m not a LeBron James homer. Here’s the deal: Skip Bayless, ESPN, Stephen A, and Embrace Debate put LeBron James on the defensive very early in his career. They stunted LeBron’s growth and sent him down the angry victimhood path. Skip started trolling 21-year-old…
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) March 7, 2025
While many NBA fans continued to argue that LeBron brought all of his struggles in the court of public opinion on himself, many were surprised by how insightful Whitlock’s comments were – especially given the outright disdain he’s shown for LeBron at times.
“The smartest thing you’ve ever said,” one user remarked.
“Yeah people pretend they weren’t hating on LeBron before he even played any minutes in the. NBA. He’s never been good enough for some people who struggled with the idea that Jordan could be number 2,” wrote another.
“This is the best thing you’ve posted! It’s so true.”
“This is actually pretty accurate. Everyone wanted him to be big bad and mean, but that’s just not his nature. He’s a big kid that can ball.”
LeBron James is continuing to play at a high level now that he’s 40 and could be primed to finish his career playing some of his best basketball since his 20s.
Wild. Truly wild.
Related: Jason Whitlock Under Fire For What He Said About LeBron