We Have No Choice But to Respect Skip Bayless' Bronny James Clutch Gene Take

Who's more clutch: LeBron or Bronny James?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

No one has gotten more mileage out of pointing out the seams and flaws in the incredible basketball life LeBron James has built than Skip Bayless, who is still churning out takes on Undisputed and recording his eponymous podcast. It's both a testament to what a person can achieve if they devote their life to something and what another person can do if someone puts them in front of a microphone. With the Los Angeles Lakers selecting Bronny James in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft, the LeBron story is entering a brand-new chapter. And if you thought for even a single second that Bayless has lost anything off his hatin' fastball, think again.

“I think Bronny will be pretty good,” Bayless said on his pod this week. “I think he’ll become a clutch three-point shooter. I’ve always gotten the feeling that Bronny had a bigger clutch gene than his father does. McDonald’s [High School All-Star] Game he was in the spotlight. They went to him late two or three times and he just nailed threes. He did not shoot the three well at USC, but I’m giving him a complete and utter break because I’m knocking on wood for him. He had a serious heart condition that waylaid him to start his first year of college basketball at USC and it just never quite got going and I get it.”

.@RealSkipBayless says Bronny may have a bigger clutch gene than LeBron pic.twitter.com/BoEbuphCSs

— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) July 4, 2024

The analytical part of your brain may want to analyze this. It may want to ask how a clutch gene would get passed along. It may—quite reasonably by the way—wonder how evidence from an exhibition high school basketball game a few years ago is being valued over, like, almost 25 years of public basketball life.

But that's a trap.

It's best for everyone if the moment is simply enjoyed for what it is—the dawn of a new era of Bayless-James content for future generations to enjoy. We'd all be truly blessed if we could hear how Bronny is actually the Lakers' most important player come February when he's averaging 11.2 points in the G League. Or how Bronny should be taking the clutch playoff shots instead of his father, who has made more of those than anyone else could ever hope to miss.