LeBron James

Skip Bayless defends LeBron James, says he has 'good shot' at MVP

Published Jan. 6, 2022 6:22 p.m. ET

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A momentous occasion took place on Thursday's episode of "Undisputed," when Skip Bayless defended Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.

Bayless, a strong critic of "The Chosen One," called Thursday's event "an ‘Undisputed’ first," as he backed the 37-year-old James to potentially win MVP this season.

"From my heart, I give him a good shot at winning MVP," Bayless said, "because of narrative."

Skip Bayless historically defends LeBron James and gives him a good shot of winning MVP

Skip Bayless explains why he believes LeBron has a 'good chance of winning MVP.'

What is that narrative, you ask? For Bayless, it starts with Russell Westbrook's impact on the team.

"I think the Russell West-brick narrative will work to his advantage, even though it was LeBron's fault that he's here," Bayless explained. "In the larger picture, people are going to say, 'Look what he's overcoming. He's overcoming the guy who's running away with the turnover lead in the NBA.' … And LeBron is playing at the highest level we've ever seen a Year 19 player play at."

The Westbrook turnover saga has been well documented.

Though he did follow up a nine-turnover performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday with an unblemished game two nights later against the Sacramento Kings, Westbrook is still the league leader in turnovers by a wide margin.

As of Thursday, Westbrook checked in with 181 turnovers, nearly 30 more than James Harden's 153 in second.

As for LeBron, he is putting up astronomical numbers, especially when you consider this is his 19th season as a pro, which began when he was 36 years of age.

Averaging 28.6 points, James is putting up historical numbers. That average is the all-time high for players age 36 or older with a minimum of 25 games started in a season since 1946. 

Plus, his recent 16-game stretch is hard to fathom. Since Dec. 3, he has averaged 30.4 points, along with 8.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks. He's doing so while shooting 54.4% from the field and 39.0% from beyond the 3-point line.

"It's astonishing to me," Bayless said of James' recent run.

Despite those heroics, the Lakers are just 8-8 in that span and sit on the edge of the playoff race in the sixth seed with a 20-19 record.

Help should be coming, though, as Bayless pointed out.

"If A.D. returns, which I assume he will. … He's still Anthony Davis. Most people would still rank him as a top-10 player in the league, I think. Maybe top 15."

A fully healthy Lakers team with an unstoppable James leading the way is not a team any contender would want to face come playoff time.

That is a long road off, but James is putting in the effort to get them there. 

That is something even the staunchest of critics can appreciate.

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