LeBron James’ Serial ‘Hater’ Skip Bayless Surprisingly Defends Superstar’s ‘Fit’ With 76ers: “Will Average 11 Assists”

LeBron James' best bet to stay healthy for the postseason is to conserve his energy during the regular season.

LeBron James’ Serial ‘Hater’ Skip Bayless Surprisingly Defends Superstar’s ‘Fit’ With 76ers: “Will Average 11 Assists”

LeBron James and Skip Bayless (Image via FirstSportz)

Of all the teams that were lining up to sign LeBron James, it was widely acknowledged that the Philadelphia 76ers would have the most trouble trying to incorporate the veteran superstar.

At age 41, he is still one of the most conditioned athletes in the league. However, expecting him to exert all his energy in the regular season will drain him before they get into the playoffs.

At the same time, the team has three starters who like to have the ball in their hands. All three are also really good at driving towards the basket and scoring at the rim.

James is without a doubt the best at driving down the lane, but in this instance, might have to stop himself from doing so, knowing the lane will be clogged. Those concerns have led many to believe that this experiment might not work.

People around the NBA questioning LeBron’s fit in Philly? HE’S A PERFECT FIT. They needed a pure PG, an orchestrator, and that’s what LeBron does best. Tyrese has averaged 6 assists last 3 years. LBJ will average 11ish and lead league in assists.

Skip Bayless wrote on X

For someone who usually leads the charge in criticizing the four-time champion, Skip Bayless surprisingly labeled James’ fit with the 76ers as perfect. He believes that the oldest player in the league will thrive as the playmaker.

It seems the former Undisputed analyst is pointing to the fact that, as a distributor with as elite an IQ as he has, LeBron James can stay back and dictate while his new teammates go to work and execute.

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LeBron James confirmed as 76ers primary playmaker

Skip Bayless may have criticized LeBron James for joining another superteam in his bid to chase after rings. But to label him as the perfect playmaker did not come out of the blue.

The Sixers are expecting LeBron James to play a good amount of time at the point guard position, initiating the game, the offense for Nick Nurse.

Shams Charania revealed on NBA Today

ESPN’s lead insider reminded viewers that the last time the superstar played the point guard position primarily, the Lakers won the 2020 championship. The expectation is that he would do the same for the Sixers next season, allowing Tyrese Maxey to show his off-ball prowess.

Charania also added that James led the league in assists during that 2019-20 season. Therefore, going by that information, it seems Bayless might not be wrong to think that the 22-time All-Star can thrive in that role.

The 76ers have players who can handle the rock in case James gets tired or needs some games off. But even then, it makes sense for the most experienced and intelligent player in the league to run the offense.

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LeBron James will benefit from 76ers teammates

Apart from playmaking, one of the major questions analysts have about LeBron James‘ fit is how he can stay away from attacking the paint every chance he gets. Since he and Joel Embiid will be tasked to execute pick-and-rolls, it will give the former plenty of chances to drive down the hill.

Joel Embiid will thrive alongside LeBron James
Joel Embiid will thrive alongside LeBron James (Image via Aidan LaPorta/X)

However, if he stays put and uses the PnR to get another player free, the Sixers can benefit twofold. On one hand, their younger players can get going and get their stats up.

On the other hand, James can just stand around and not do much. That way, he can conserve his energy for when he will be required to score a lot of points.

The only concern is defense, and how fast the team can get into a rhythm to exploit their full potential. But playing point guard could probably allow a situation where the four-time league MVP dictates how the team plays instead of him having to adapt to them.

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