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Skip Bayless has had (for better or worse) a major impact on the sports media landscape since linking up with Stephen A. Smith for the original version of First Take back in 2007.
Those two men are inextricably linked to the rise of programming that largely revolves around talking heads yelling at each other while arguing about the biggest news of the day (and inevitably rehashing the LeBron vs. Jordan debate on a biweekly basis), which is what Bayless has been doing since defecting to FS1 to co-host Undisputed with Shannon Sharpe in 2016.
That era officially came to an end last month when Sharpe’s time on the show came to an end after seven years, and while it seems like there’s a chance Keyshawn Johnson could fill the void created in the wake of his departure, Undisputed still hasn’t decided on who will be replacing him.
There’s no telling if Charles Barkley would actually be interested in the role, but when you consider he sparked a war of words with Bayless after referring to him as a “clown” while covering the latest installment of The Match on TNT, he’s probably not chomping at the bit for the chance to team up with him.
However, it does appear his rival would be open to doing exactly that based on what he had to say during a recent segment on The Skip Bayless Show where he referred to Sir Charles as his “dream partner.”
“Charles Barkley would be my dream partner for Undisputed.” — @RealSkipBayless pic.twitter.com/vVBTdLFHmd
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) July 6, 2023
However, it’s worth noting that label was designed to be the ultimate backhanded compliment, as Bayless made it clear the only reason he’d want to work with Barkley is the possibility of routinely dunking on a man he obviously thinks lacks the ability to go toe-to-toe with him on a regular basis, saying:
“What a joy it would be to do battle every day with Charles Barkley live on television.
I could semi-retire. I could mail it in. I could, dare I say, actually have a life and forget about prepping so furiously hard night after night after night for every day’s Undisputed.
All I’d have to do is let Charles go first and listen to him make a fool of himself. I get to sit back and watch him walk himself right into an indefensible trap. I wouldn’t even have to try.
So, please, please, please, Charles, come be this damn idiot’s debate partner. Please let me annihilate you on a daily basis.”
It seems doubtful Bayless’ “dream” will come true, but as he seems to know, it would probably make for some pretty great television.