By admin 
If there is one media personality who has built an entire reputation around relentlessly criticizing some of basketball’s biggest stars, it is Skip Bayless. From repeatedly belittling LeBron James to continuing to take shots at Russell Westbrook even after his retirement, Bayless has rarely shied away from making controversial remarks about NBA legends.
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And at this point, former NBA champion Matt Barnes seems to have had enough. Barnes made it clear that, while he had given Skip the benefit of the doubt and tried to maintain a cordial relationship with him, his perspective has changed.
Barnes calls out Skip for Russell Westbrook disrespect
Having previously protected Bayless from others in the sports community who wanted to lay hands on and confront him, Matt is certain he wouldn’t do the same now.
“I tried to give Skip the benefit of the doubt,” Barnes said on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast. “We had him on the show, but Skip, you be bull—ting. Just the disrespect… I said a long time ago, man, someone’s going to end up putting hands on Skip’s old a–”
Stephen Jackson isn’t pleased with Bayless either
There is no denying that Westbrook had flaws, especially during the latter stages of his career. Though his turnovers and inefficiency became a major talking point, Brodie continuously made sacrifices for different teams to help maximize their chances of winning a championship.
Moreover, even though he might be considered a high-risk commodity in his last campaigns, in his prime, Westbrook is nothing short of a generational talent: someone who averaged a triple-double across four seasons, won two scoring titles and three assists titles, and was the MVP in 2017. That alone guarantees his spot as a First Ballot of Famer, until Bayless dismissed that notion.
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As a result, even Stephen Jackson was so viciously infuriated that he proclaimed that it was only because of such “clout-chasing” admissions that Bayless does not have a network that he permanently works for.
“Your fans are losers just like you, bro, when you do s–t like that,” Jackson added. “So you have loser fans. We’ve been saying this for so long. You do better and get further when you give people their flowers and show love. All the demeaning s–t, you got to try hard as hell to figure some s–tout to say to make it make sense, and you can’t.”
People are sick of Skip’s takes
There is a certain entertainment value to Bayless’ approach. Perhaps his willingness to challenge conventional opinions and criticize even the most accomplished players can generate discussions, especially when his perspective differs dramatically from the mainstream.
However, there is a difference between having an unpopular basketball opinion and repeatedly making personal remarks about players. That distinction appears to have frustrated Barnes and Jackson.
For years, Skip might have built his brand on confrontations, but after the admissions made by Barnes and Jackson, it clearly seems like the NBA fraternity wants Bayless to be humbled, or at least get a reality check at the age of 74.
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This story was originally published August 31, 2026 at 7:53 AM.