Skip Bayless
Role at the time: Sports commentator and host of The Skip Bayless Show, appearing as a guest on The Stephen A. Smith Show
Condemned
Response to this claim
Giannis Antetokounmpo was difficult to coach and does not necessarily have a high basketball IQ, relying on one way of playing: attacking downhill and forcing the action.
“I thought he should have kept that to himself”
Watch the original video (opens in a new tab)The Stephen A. Smith Show with Skip Bayless, November 6, 2026 segmentAbout 20:13 to 24:28
Why we used this label
The reference point is Doc Rivers's remarks on The Bill Simmons Podcast that Antetokounmpo was not easy to coach and does not necessarily have the super IQ. Bayless allows that Rivers's view may hold some truth but objects to Rivers saying it publicly, which he says feels like Rivers defending his legacy. He criticizes the remarks themselves, and his acknowledgement that they may be partly accurate does not change that conclusion.