It has been a rollercoaster of a summer for the Los Angeles Lakers. After getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the NBA playoffs, they received confirmation that LeBron James is moving on from the franchise. Then, they lost several other free agents, including Luke Kennard, Rui Hachimura, and Marcus Smart.
Los Angeles has added Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton, but the Lakers’ moves did not inspire confidence in ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who recently claimed that Los Angeles cannot win with “three white dudes.” The comments ignited controversy and plenty of criticism, but his former ESPN colleague, Skip Bayless, has come to his defense.
Skip Bayless Sees Nothing Wrong With Stephen A. Smith’s Assessment of the Lakers
As the Lakers pivoted in a different direction, they brought in a bunch of pieces to support their two stars, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Chief among them was a blockbuster trade for Kessler.
The Lakers traded two first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Utah Jazz for the rim-protecting center and then signed him to a four-year, $130 million deal. It’s clear that Dončić, Reaves, and Kessler are Los Angeles’ Big 3 going forward, which Smith criticized.
“Where the hell the Los Angeles Lakers think they’re going with a bunch of white dudes?” Smith said on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.” “Your three top players are white dudes? Really? This ain’t golf! This ain’t baseball! Hell, it ain’t even soccer. What y’all think this is? It’s basketball!
“In NBA history, when have you seen your three most prominent players on a basketball team all be white, and that takes you to the promised land? Somebody gotta say it, so I’m saying it. This is basketball! I’m not complaining, I’m simply making the point. The Los Angeles Lakers, you ain’t going anywhere being led by three white dudes in today’s generation of basketball!
“Luka’s a bad brother, and Austin Reaves is no scrub, and they both have earned what they have earned. Them with LeBron James or some other brothers, I get. But those two and Walker Kessler? You ain’t scaring anybody with that. And Rob Pelinka has done made this white dude central. No wonder LeBron James walked out the door.”
Smith immediately received backlash from Emmanuel Acho and others, but he doubled down on his comments.
Bayless, who spent nearly a decade with Smith on “First Take,” jumped to his support.
“That was no racist statement. I have no issue whatsoever with that statement. That was just the gutsy, historical truth,” Bayless stated.
I respond to Stephen A saying a new Laker Big 3 of 3 white dudes can’t win a championship. pic.twitter.com/DeHvGUF1G2
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 6, 2026
To make his point, the veteran analyst pointed to NBA history.
“The NBA has had more black players than white players starting in 1970. The NBA has, since 1970, sort of averaged about 75 to 80% black players consistently,” he said.
Bayless wasn’t discounting white players entirely, though, bringing up names like Larry Bird, Rick Barry, Pete Maravich, and Bill Walton as examples of white players who made their mark on the sport. Then, he did push back a bit, arguing that this Lakers team could be better than Smith thinks.
“If you give Luka a guy who can protect the rim and protect him on defense, now you have something. You have something different. You have something that you can’t just dismiss as three typical white dudes,” Bayless said. “These aren’t three typical white dudes… Could these Lakers be the third-best team in the West? Sure, they could.”
MORE: Luka Dončić Snubs Ex-Lakers Co-Star LeBron James While Picking ‘Ultimate 2-on-2’ Teammate
He made it clear that he wasn’t offended by Smith’s comments and didn’t find them racist, but then pushed back, arguing that the new-look Lakers could actually thrive together.
It remains to be seen how Los Angeles will fare after a busy offseason and whether they can prove Smith and other doubters wrong.
