Luka Dončić had 40 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 116-103 to improve to 7-2. Skip Bayless believes the 27-year-old guard is among the top MVP contenders following his stellar start to the season, but he couldn’t praise Dončić without taking some shots at LeBron James.

James joined the Philadelphia 76ers this offseason, and Bayless argued on ESPN’s “First Take” that the Lakers are better off without him, crediting Dončić’s growth and taking aim at the veteran forward’s years in Los Angeles.

Skip Bayless Credits Luka Dončić’s Growth Without LeBron James

Bayless built his argument around a theory about Dončić’s mindset.

“I believe that Luka Dončić got sick and tired of having to share the stage with LeBron James, who couldn’t live up to being LeBron James anymore,” he said.

James’ start in Philadelphia offers a counterpoint. The 76ers are 8-1 and first in the Eastern Conference, and James had 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists in 33 minutes in Wednesday’s 112-106 win at Detroit.

Bayless then pointed to how the league’s general managers voted for MVP before the season.

“He got zero votes for MVP [in the NBA GM survey],” Bayless said. “He’s now the favorite to be the MVP.”

The poll bears out the zero votes. In the annual GM survey, published on Oct. 15, the league’s general managers predicted who will this season’s MVP award. Victor Wembanyama received 77% of the votes, followed by Nikola Jokić at 10% and Anthony Edwards at 7%. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum also received votes, but Dončić did not.

The same GMs picked the Lakers to finish sixth in the Western Conference. Three weeks later, the Lakers are second in the West, tied with the Houston Rockets at 7-2.

Bayless, who said he “never was his biggest fan,” then walked through the parts of Dončić’s game he believes have changed: “He is an obvious superstar who has worked hard without LeBron James to improve all of his obvious weaknesses. He used to be a high-volume, sometimes leading the league in 3-point attempts, and a low-volume maker from 3-point range. He used to play no defense… All those things have improved this year… He’s now shooting 43% from three.”

Even in praising Dončić, Bayless measured him against James.

“He’s averaging 38-8-8 because he’s a generational passer like LeBron is,” Bayless said. GMs ranked Dončić second to Jokić as the league’s best passer in October, though Jokić took 87% of that vote to Dončić’s 7%.

In the eight games he has played, Dončić is averaging 38.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.0 assists. Dončić has made 47 of his 109 attempts from 3-point range, or 43.1%, while taking 13.6 a game. He currently leads the league in points per game and 3-pointers per game (5.9), while ranking fifth in assists per game.

Bayless also took a dig at James’ years in Los Angeles.

“Now the stage has been cleared of a LeBron James, who I gotta say, his LA tenure was completely overrated,” he said. “He got pass after pass in LA, just because in 2020, in the bubble in Orlando, he won a Mickey Mouse championship.”

The league’s GMs rated James highly going into this season. They ranked him second to Jokić for best basketball IQ, with 33% of the vote. When they picked the offseason acquisition that will make the biggest impact, he tied for third at 13%.

The Lakers host the 76ers on Dec. 25 at Crypto.com Arena. Whether Dončić can turn his start into his first-ever MVP award remains to be seen.