The names LeBron James and Skip Bayless might as well go together like peanut butter and jelly. I’m sure James rather that not be the case. However, for Bayless, any news of James means a slew of new content for him. Last week, James became the first NBA player to surpass 40,000 career points scored. It’s a Herculean feat that may be one of the few to never be topped. And with this accomplishment, comes more career retrospectives in the media.

In the post-game presser, James alluded to his early years saying, “Everybody wanted me to fail.” His first detractors were players from the season before James’ draft to the Cleveland Cavaliers. If you check out the clip below, you’ll see how excited they are at the prospect of playing with such a talent.

Bear in mind, that these comments were made before the 2003 NBA draft in which James was drafted number one. This was his grand welcoming committee! And Bayless doesn’t seem to want to give these comments any credence. His mentality was that the media had been kind to him upon his entry into the league. They went as far as to “guard” him as the Undisputed host detailed. But nowhere in his remarks does he refer to the above clip where James’ prospective teammates don’t seem to believe the hype.

Conversely, I believe James is thinking about his first teammates and their attitudes in his presser comments. Can you imagine being required to perform at the highest of levels, and your teammates weren’t ecstatic to have you? James quite frankly, singlehandedly changed the Cavaliers’ fortunes. Within four seasons of being in the league, he led them to the 2007 NBA finals. And it was known even in the fall of 2003 that that could be a strong possibility. He had that kind of potential. There was nothing marginal about the talent of James. So, there was a clear lack of respect that existed for an 18-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio.

What’s most ironic to me is his teammates’ lack of enthusiasm. Ironically enough, none of those players ever reached near the heights of success that James has. The player that came closest was Carlos Boozer. He found success playing for the Utah Jazz. He played under coach Jerry Sloan and alongside perennial all-star Deron Williams. But it goes to show all of us how much it doesn’t cost to be encouraging. Having a positive attitude and not condescending doesn’t cost anything.

So, it’s clear as day that James “took it personally” as one Michael Jordan would say. And this experience fueled him in part, to amass the accolades that he has. But James didn’t go as far as to thank those people. Those naysayers should sit with how distasteful their spirits were at the time. They don’t get to say “I told you so” on one of the clearest generational superstars of all time. As for Bayless, if he didn’t know these facts, hopefully now, he does.