'LeBron haters' Paul Pierce-Skip Bayless pairing on FS1’s 'Undisputed' draws NBA fans amusement

Paul Pierce is reportedly joining “Undisputed” on Fox Sports. According to the New York Post, the former NBA legend is likely to join Skip Bayless on the show. The Post reported that the deal is yet to be finalized, however, there is a strong possibility that it could come to fruition this week itself.

Bayless had previously co-hosted the show with Shannon Sharpe, who was let go by the FS last year. While Sharpe joined ESPN with Stephen A. Smith on First Take, Undisputed largely became a talk show of the panel rather than a debate between two analysts.

Skip Baylesy is known for his strong take on LeBron James, while Paul Pierce has refused to give LeBron a place in the GOAT conversation. After NBA Central posted the update on X/Twitter, the news drew massive reactions from fans. Some of the fans on X had some hilarious reactions to the news.

Alluding to both Paul Pierce and Bayless’ history of takes on James, one of the fans commented,

“The amount of Lebron hatred coming off this show now will be insane.”

Another fan commented along the same lines.

“Lebrons two biggest haters,’ the fan wrote.

After Sharpe left Undisputed, his position was largely taken by Keyshawn Johnson, the former NFL player. However, Johnson and Bayless are often joined by Richard Sherman, Michael Irvin and former ESPN host Rachel Nichols.

Paul Pierce was fired by ESPN in 2021 for posting a live video

Paul Pierce was one of the regular faces on ESPN until 2021. His role was already seeing a massive reduction from the channel owing to his lack of preparation for the NBA games.

In April 2021, he received massive flak after he went on IG Live where he was seen partying with women dancing in bikinis, and smoking marijuana. He was later fired by ESPN.

Later Paul Pierce commented that he had no idea why he was fired in the first place.

“I got fired for having some entertainment. I’m playing cards. It’s my boy’s birthday. It’s girls dancing. We’re blowing some tree. What did I do wrong?” he asked the “I Am Athlete” podcast.

Pierce also added that he did not deliberately go live while having fun. He said that he had recently received a haircut and he was just checking it on live video, which too was an accident.

“I don’t ever go live either, I was just feeling my [hair] cut or something, and then it was popping behind me,” Pierce said.

Currently, the 2008 NBA champion co-hosts “Ticket & The Truth” with his former teammate Kevin Garnett. Moreover, Paul Pierce had recently appeared on Undisputed in October 2023.

Earlier, Shannon Sharpe, who regards LeBron James as the GOAT of basketball, went against Skip Bayless, who has Michael Jordan as his GOAT. Sharpe and Bayless sitting across each other and getting into heated debates were able to draw massive viewings. However, after Sharpe left the show, the viewership has reportedly taken a massive hit.