We’re not quite sure who is the bigger loudmouth – Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bayless. Both personalities do get their share of flake from the entire world. But we definitely know who is getting the most flake from NBA players right now, and it’s Bayless. Bayless has done almost everything – from criticizing LeBron James for missing the NBA Finals and not being born with a “Clutch gene” to reportedly ‘fat-shaming’ Michael Jordan and attacking his basketball IQ, the 72-year-old has seldom shied away from handing out his hot takes. In such situations, there have also been instances when the players in question haven’t held back from retaliating. The same was proven true during the host’s recent online altercation with Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green.

It all started back a couple of days ago when Green became the focus of Bayless’s latest segment. The Warriors player had been having his share of trouble during his recent season, getting suspended for a total of 17 days after getting into two separate incidents with Jusuf Nurkić and longtime rival Rudy Gobert. Criticizing the same, Bayless also took a shot at the player’s disciplinary issues and proceeded to claim “Draymond Green is, no exaggeration, the dirtiest player in NBA history, by far. The dirtiest player in NBA history, by far, is Draymond Green…” Well, of course, since it’s Green in question, he wasn’t one to simply ignore Bayless. He has now responded, and he is not at all happy with Bayless’ remarks.

“Everybody skipping past Skip Bayless since Shannon (Sharpe) left him, and he comes out and says he’ll have me eaten out of the palm of his hands” said the 34-year-old Warriors’ power forward. “I am not coming on your show, Skip. I’m gonna keep skipping past you, just like everyone else skipped on you. Because that show is dead. No one wants to hear you talk anymore. In the words of Richard Sherman, I am better than you. I’m better than you at life. Skipping Skip.”

And this did not stop there. Not only did he wrap his segment by saying “skipping Skip“, he also went ahead to show off his recognitions, his awards, and trophies behind him, along with his rings as he tried to bring Bayless down. He directly pointed at his rings at first, questioning Bayless, “Skip, you’ve never had one of these… or these.” 

After his vivid display of his accolades, Green dropped the final bomb on Bayless, saying – “We don’t respect you”.

Considering how brutal this was, we are waiting what Bayless would retaliate with. But for obvious reasons, Green is getting the most amount of support after Bayless’ “dirty” comments, from fans and his teammates, including Steph Curry. Curry took to his Instagram and proceeded to comment, “been skipping!”.

Have other NBA player followed Draymond Green’s path and criticized Skip Bayless?

Not to anyone’s surprise, Skip Bayless’s attack on Draymond Green was not the first instance of the host going harsh against a member of the NBA fraternity. However, just like Draymond Green, not all of them have chosen to stay silent.

Back in 2012, then Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant had made his first NBA Finals. Prior to that, he had added several new feats to his name, including recording his first 50+ point game. However, Skip Bayless still found an opportunity to criticize him and his teammates by claiming that Russell Westbrook wanted the team for himself, while point guards like Kevin Durant were just shooting too much and that the Thunder get in a precarious position when Westbrook has more shooting attempts than Durant. After a while, the player felt that he had heard enough.

“That guy (Bayless) doesn’t know a thing about basketball” said Durant in a statement. “I don’t think he watches us. I think he just looks at the stats.”

In 2021, Skip Bayless took a shot at LeBron James by stating, “The Best Player on the Planet was at it again tonight in Brooklyn, going assassin in overtime for the COVID-rocked Nets. Nothing like Kevin Durant. You watch, Bron?” Kevin Durant could have easily stayed away. However, he didn’t choose to stay silent while a friend of his was being attacked at his expense. He responded back by stating “I really don’t like u.”

Charles Barkley

No one from the NBA world has had more issues with Skip Bayless than former Philadelphia 76ers star Charles Barkley. The two individuals have often shared verbal spats on several issues, indicating just how much they hate each other. This has caused Barkley to shoot back at the 72-year-old even when he was not the one in the line of fire.

Back in February 2024, Skip Bayless took a break from the NBA world and carried his analysis to the NFL. He made headlines after complimenting former star player Tom Brady and claiming that he deserved ‘75% of the credit’ for taking the New England Patriots to new heights. At the same time, he diminished the contributions of former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick by calling him a “glorified defensive coordinator.” Taking up this issue, Charles Barkley brought up his usual sass and pinned down the host during an interview on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’.

“Let me tell you how stupid some of these guys are on television,” said the 61-year-old. “You know how much I hate Skip Bayless. I hate him with every fiber. Sometimes he makes me want to gain weight back so I can hate him with even more weight.”

via Getty

CJ McCollum

Back in 2019, new Toronto Raptors player Kawhi Leonard was making waves. By dropping 36, 35, and 27 points during three Eastern Conference Finals games against the Milwaukee Bucks, the player had helped his team out of a sticky situation and helped them proceed to the NBA Finals. Despite his significant contribution, the player came on the receiving end of Skip Bayless’s rant. He criticized the player for using a ‘thigh bruise’ excuse to not play as well during the previous season while riding on the coattails of a “sick Embiid” and a “overrated Giannis” to bring himself back to the limelight.

Amongst the people who came to Leonard’s defense was his on-court rival CJ McCollum. He took to his X account to comment “Give it a rest skip. Get some sleep man. Klaw is a monster. Get that hate out your heart”.

If you wish to know more about the latest happenings in the world of the NBA, be sure to check out what Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius.