"Luka just LeBroned LeBron. Just fed him some of his own PR medicine" - Skip Bayless says he feels sorry for LeBron James after all the Doncic craze originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Even though we are still in the quietness of the offseason, when most NBA players are either grinding away on their craft or relaxing somewhere while watching their favorite horse win a race, the Los Angeles Lakers are once again the talk of the town. And it is all because of Luka Doncic .
First, the Slovenian sensation has shown up in internet clips looking slimmer than ever, while also adding some muscle. Then he ended up on the cover of "Men's Health" magazine. Who would have thought?
And as the cherry on top, the Purple and Gold organization rewarded their new poster boy with a max deal, reportedly three years for $165 million.
All of this led to one very obvious conclusion. One guy suddenly fell down in the Lakers' pecking order, and that guy is LeBron James .
When it comes to LeBron, nobody has been more relentless than Skip Bayless . For years, the outspoken analyst has made a career out of criticizing every move The King makes. Anything James does, good or bad, doesn't go unnoticed. But this time, Bayless surprised everyone by taking things a step further, claiming that he actually feels bad for the all-time leading scorer.
"Allow me to tell you why I now feel sorry for LeBron James ," the analyst began his rant. "Luka just LeBroned LeBron. Just fed him some of his own PR medicine, which made LeBron shrink and go quiet and disappear."
To make matters even more interesting, just days ago, in the middle of all this Luka frenzy, James took to social media and posted himself working out in a gym. Not just any gym, but at the Clippers ' facility. Not the Lakers, the team that he won a championship with and is still a member of, but their cross-town rivals. You can only imagine how much fuel that "move" added to Bayless' fire.
"Man, that sounded bitter. And I can't blame him. As LeBron posted these pictures, earlier this past week, Luka was in the process of flexing on LeBron the way LeBron has often flexed on so many co-stars of his," Skip continued his barrage.
"Luka, as you know, now went crash diet bootcamping in Croatia and outshaped even LeBron. He got even more ripped than LeBron. I don't know, there may have been even some photoshopping. Luka even did media manipulation on LeBron, the number 1 media manipulator," he pointed out.
Whether LeBron truly feels slighted by Lakers management for giving Luka the spotlight, or this is just another one of Skip's signature rants that has little to do with reality, remains to be seen. What is clear is that the Lakers seem intent on making serious noise this campaign.
Sure, their front office and fans say that before every season, but this time it feels different. Truth be told, Los Angeles hasn't had a more complete roster since its Bubble Championship. They added a much-needed center in Deandre Ayton and boosted their rotation and defense with the additions of Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia .
With LeBron and Luka, yes, the duo is still together, steering the ship, it might just be what the doctor ordered for one of the most storied franchises in the Association. If anything, this new dynamic has made the Lakers more interesting than ever, and if Skip is suddenly feeling sorry for LeBron, you know the NBA world is in for a wild ride.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
