Just when you think the NBA can't surprise you anymore, we find incredible things. While dramas like Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons' continue, the association is getting ready to start a new season where they'll have plenty of reasons to celebrate.
Several teams made big moves to have a better chance to compete for the championship next year, but there's one that stands out the most in this item. The Los Angeles Lakers went out, traded for Russell Westbrook, and added the right pieces to complement their new Big 3.
Even with all these moves, the Lakers went winless in the preseason for the first time since 2012, setting the alarms at Staples Center. They lost the last game against the Sacramento Kings, 116-112. But the bright side was LeBron James playing great basketball, dropping 30 points on the Kings in under 30 minutes.
This performance might have been useless for plenty of fans. Still, James' biggest hater took notice of that and actually praised the 4x NBA champion. Skip Bayless had nothing but good things to say about Bron in the wake of the Lakers' sixth preseason defeat, even claiming he played like an MVP candidate.
“I will start off with your man LeBron James,” Bayless said addressing Shannon Sharpe. “The quote on quote ‘king’. The phony GOAT. I thought LeBron James played great last night. I thought he looked, I’ll go this far, an MVP candidate. Going into his 19th season, I’m gonna give you MVP candidate. … He came out on a preseason mission last night. He said ‘enough is enough’.”
This is a lot to take in, knowing how annoying Bayless can be when attacking LeBron James. However, this time, he was pleased watching The King doing his thing, playing like he's in the middle of the season.
On that note, Shannon Sharpe also praised the 36-year-old, going further and saying that the Lakers looked like a championship team in the making.
“That’s what I was looking for! Finally, I saw the makings of a championship team. LeBron looked like he was in mid-season form.”
Perhaps their preseason struggles make people think they have a lot of work to do before things click. LeBron James even admitted they'll need time to find their touch, but that last game left good sensations about the Lakers.
Time will tell if their Big 3 can take this team to the promised land in a season where the rest of the West will try to take them out.
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