Skip Bayless created this little earworm and now the FBI’s gambling probe into the NBA is stoking those flames. Every injury in the league sounds like a plot device for scripted TV. LeBron James’ sciatica was reported before anyone could’ve imagined that the opening week of the 2025-26 would be marred with arrests. Now Bron’s medical situation takes on a new color. A few sceptics feel he might be weaponizing it.

Now Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are hardly the unbiased LeBron cynics. They haven’t gotten over the Celtics-Heat rivalry to this day. They do see LeBron James as a great player though. So it’s hard for them to digest he’d miss the first three weeks of the season.

After that Hennessy debacle, KG was convinced that James is gearing up for retirement after the 2025-26 season. Yet this week on KG Certified, his theory took on a new twist. “Guess what this feels like to me,” he starts with that disclaimer and cautiously enacted a skit pretending to be Bron. “Y’all don’t want to get that deal done. All right, cool.” Insert, the ‘hail a cab’ whistle for Bron (KG) calling his agent, Rich Paul. “Hey, Rich, hit the light on that.” And then engine sounds.

What the Celtics legend explains is, “This is leverage, my dog. This is the GOAT telling everybody or the greatest of his time telling everybody, ‘Yeah, this how we going to run this.’ This feels like leverage. Yeah. I ain’t playing no, ain’t playing.”

The Truth bluntly said what KG wasn’t. “So you saying he not hurt?” Because it’s a huge allegation. Especially with what’s going on in the league. KG cautiously walked it back with I don’t knows and “That’s not what I’m saying.” Pierce insisted, “You said it sound like leverage, like press the button. That sound feels like leverage.”

KG doubled down even more cautiously. “I ain’t saying if he not hurt or hurt. I ain’t getting into that. I said this feels like leverage.”

Pierce and Garnett aren’t throwing allegations exactly. But they know their biggest rival and they can’t believe why he’d miss multiple games in what could be one of – if not the – final seasons of his career.

Kevin Garnett is repeating Skip Bayless’ LeBron theory

Paul Pierce will talk a lot about his hate for LeBron James. But he will admit his talent and love for the game is unmatched. He does say, “He [James} love the game though, he want to play.” 

Kevin Garnett repeated that. And it makes him madder at JJ Redick for reducing Bron’s role within the team. Some might say it’s not entirely Redick’s decision for the Lakers focusing on Luka Doncic but the ’08 champs are mad at Redick for not pacing 40-year-old James properly.

Almost no one can accept that King James would willingly sit out multiple games. Note that James is on track to surpass Robert Parish for the no.1 spot on the all-time list of most NBA career games this season. He’s played 1562 and Parish retired with 1611 games in his career.

When his sciatica injury was revealed, Skip Bayless went on a scathing rant (what’s new) accusing Bron of exaggerating the pain. “I told you this was coming. LeBron James isn’t hurting. He’s pouting. He’s rebelling. He’s going little kid on the Los Angeles Lakers for the way they have treated or mistreated him in his view. He’s saying, ‘Ok, if Luka is the man, if I am not in your plans, then I will basically take my basketball and go home.’”

Unlike Kevin Garnett, Bayless outrightly claimed James’ camp is faking/exaggerating the sciatica to get back at the team. The reasons are cause for speculation though.

Early this summer, James exercised the player option on his contract for the 2025-26 season rather than opt out and become a free agent. As a result for the first time in his career, he’s in the final year of his contract. Some claim James is positive about his future and focused on the current season. Others claim he took the option because the Lakers, who landed Luka Doncic in a blockbuster trade in February, didn’t offer him an extension during the summer.

All parties are playing hot and cold with Bron’s retirement rumors. Nothing can be confirmed unless LeBron James himself outrightly speaks on it. But claims of faking injuries can’t be thrown around lightly now.