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After about a 10-year hiatus, Skip Bayless was back on ESPN’s First Take battling against his familiar foe, Stephen A. Smith.
From debating where LeBron James ranks on the list of all-time NBA greats, to Smith making fun of Bayless’ favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, to rehashing old debates, the reunion was a roller coaster ride that brought us all back to a time when this show was still outlandish, yet watchable.
Skip Bayless, who believes he’s rarely been wrong throughout his television career, and never lost a debate to Stephen A., said he was right about Tim Tebow being a success in the NFL. Throughout the years, many critics considered Bayless “obsessed” with Tebow and some even considered his advocacy of the former Heisman winner a “shtick,” which he’s denied. Smith believed part of the reason the two hosts were in hot water with their bosses years ago was because of Bayless’ incessant coverage of the quarterback, so naturally, they brought it up in the reunion.
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Bayless doubled down on his claim that Tebow was a successful NFL QB and not a bust. Bayless even called Tim Tebow’s 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime to give the Denver Broncos a 29-23 AFC Wild Card playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, “the greatest overtime touchdown pass in the history of the National football league.”
Bayless is too prideful and blinded by his love of Tebow to admit he wasn’t a success in the NFL and his constant use of Tebow’s Wild Card win as an example of success is a weak argument in my opinion. The man was a phenomenal college quarterback who only played three seasons in the NFL. Let’s be honest. He was a bust.
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One of the most heated, lively aspects of the Smith vs. Bayless rivalry was the constant poking fun of the Dallas Cowboys’ lack of success. Smith, though he is no longer debating Bayless about this every football season, still loves to make fun of Bayless’ favorite football team and relishes in their shortcomings online and in studio.
Bayless passionately stated during the segment discussing Smith’s Knicks fandom and Bayless’ Cowboys fandom, “You for years and years have constantly ridiculed my Dallas Cowboys.” He even admitted that Smith had “often been right” in his assessment of their failings.
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This is where Bayless lowered the boom on Smith’s New York Knicks. “Since 1973, you have not won a championship,” Bayless proclaimed proudly. “Since 1973, my Cowboys have actually been to six Super Bowls and won four of them. I would much rather be a Cowboys fan than a Knicks fan.”
To that, Smith responded, “The difference between New York Knicks fans and Dallas Cowboys fans is that when we sucked, we knew it, we admitted it, we acknowledged it.” Touché.
Smith then humorously highlighted how Skip Bayless has crashed out over the years due to Cowboys’ playoff collapses and other failings by throwing jerseys and other merchandise away.
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Truly, this was one of the best parts of today’s show. It’s fun because it feels like bar talk between argumentative friends who get lost in their fandom, trying at all costs to get under the skin of their opponent and trump their argumentation. It’s relatable to the average fan.
If you’ve kept up with Smith and Bayless over the years, you knew a LeBron James GOAT conversation would be on the table for today’s reunion. What you might not have expected was how low Bayless had LeBron on his top-10 list of all-time NBA greats.
Bayless had LeBron all the way at #9 on his list. Smith’s reaction was priceless. Hand on his chin, leaning to the right side of his chair, staring off to the ends of the studio behind the camera, rolling his eyes in disbelief like he’s done many times over the years in response to Bayless’ outrageous claims. Smith’s initial vocal reaction before Bayless tried to substantiate his claim was, “For the audience to have to be subjected to this drivel that’s about to come out of your mouth… You got me defending LeBron James. NINTH?! NINE?!“
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After the two quickly agreed that “Michael Jeffrey Jordan” was the unquestionable greatest player in NBA history, Bayless shared the eight players he has ranked ahead of James.
LeBron James was at 9 and Wilt Chamberlain was at 10.
Bayless’ reasoning was that the eight players ranked ahead of James were “cold-blooded basketball killers, who I would trust with games for my life” and added, “LeBron James, to me, has proven over many, many years to be the most mentally fragile superstar I have ever closely observed. I mean, the poor man, as gifted as he is, was born without a clutch gene.” Smith could only continue to look disgusted, leaning on the large studio desk, speechless.
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Bayless unsurprisingly noted LeBron’s 4-6 NBA Finals record, his poor three-point and free-throw shooting, especially in late-game, clutch situations, and after Skip stated his four greatest NBA players, Smith shouted, “This is blasphemy!”
What Bayless did crown LeBron was “longevity GOAT’, claiming, as many objective observers would, “He’s the most durable player in the history of sports.”
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What ESPN did here with this reunion was similar to what Disneyland Parks did recently with Star Wars land. They leaned on nostalgia and went back to familiar characters, who draw an audience. Disney went back to Han Solo, Princess Leia and Darth Vader. ESPN went back to the dynamic duo of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith. While Bayless and Smith aren’t a mainstay like those old Star Wars characters will be, they highlight how things have changed over the decade. Are any of these ESPN shows better than they were a decade ago? Is Star Wars better? I hope you get the point.
No doubt, this reunion will be proven to have drawn big numbers when the viewership is revealed. It’s caused quite the stir on social media, with personalities like Clay Travis weighing in, saying First Take should have Bayless on during the NFL season.
Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith are two sides of the same coin. They both say ridiculous stuff, bend over backwards to substantiate their claims, and undoubtedly, have some of the best chemistry in the history of sports television. At times it felt like a sequel to a movie that didn’t actually need a sequel, relying heavily on callbacks, but I found it an enjoyable watch.
ESPN had Rich Eisen return to ESPN to host SportsCenter from the Bristol, Conn., headquarters for the first time in over 20 years on Sunday, April 12, 2026, so they obviously are testing the waters on nostalgia and doing their best to draw audiences back to the network.
We’ll see if this was just a one-off or if this is some sort of comeback tour for Bayless. I’m with Clay Travis. Bring him back. It’ll be much more entertaining than the race-baiting from Ryan Clark.
