Skip Bayless Reunites with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN's First Take After 10-Year Hiatus

Skip Bayless returned to ESPN’s First Take after about a 10-year hiatus to debate his longtime rival, Stephen A. Smith.

The pair clashed over familiar topics. They debated Tim Tebow’s NFL career, Smith mocked Bayless’ favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, and they revisited old arguments. Bayless, who claims he rarely errs in his TV career and never lost a debate to Smith, insisted he was right about Tebow succeeding in the NFL. Critics had called Bayless obsessed with the former Heisman winner and labeled his support a shtick, which he denied. Smith said their past bosses got upset partly over Bayless’ constant Tebow coverage.

Bayless doubled down, calling Tebow’s 80-yard overtime touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas—which gave the Denver Broncos a 29-23 AFC Wild Card playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers—the greatest overtime touchdown pass in NFL history.

Bayless then accused Smith of ridiculing his Dallas Cowboys for years. He admitted Smith had often been right about their failings. Bayless fired back at Smith’s New York Knicks. "Since 1973, you have not won a championship," Bayless said. "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."

Smith replied, "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." He joked about Bayless throwing away Cowboys jerseys after playoff losses.

The debate turned to LeBron James’ place among all-time NBA greats. Bayless ranked James ninth. Smith reacted with disbelief, hand on chin, eyes rolling. "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?!" he said.

Both agreed Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the greatest NBA player. Bayless ranked these eight players ahead of James: Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Bill Russell, Kobe Bryant and Larry Bird. Wilt Chamberlain sat at 10.

Bayless called the top eight cold-blooded basketball killers he would trust with his life in games. He labeled James the most mentally fragile superstar he had observed, born without a clutch gene. He cited James’ 4-6 NBA Finals record and poor late-game three-point and free-throw shooting. Smith called it blasphemy.

Bayless praised James as the longevity GOAT and the most durable player in sports history.

The reunion tapped nostalgia amid slipping First Take ratings. It stirred social media buzz, with Clay Travis urging ESPN to bring Bayless back for NFL season. ESPN also had Rich Eisen host SportsCenter from Bristol, Conn., on April 12, 2026, for the first time in over 20 years.