Stephen A. Smith was visibly appalled by Skip Bayless arguing that LeBron James should be ranked at No. 9 among the all-time NBA greats, thus forcing him to come to LeBron’s defense. Bayless, for those unaware, made his return to First Take with Smith and Shae Cornette on Friday (May 8), quickly getting right to his point after previously making the same argument in a post shared to X. “You’ve already elevated LeBron James to No. 2 on your all-time list,” Bayless said after a montage of past Smith and Bayless highlights was played to welcome him back to the show. “I have him at nine.” Smith was clearly put off by this assertion, though the two didn’t chop it up in more detail until a bit deeper into the episode. “For the audience to have to be subjected to this drivel that’s about to come out of your mouth,” Smith, clearly disgusted, said. “LeBron James. You got me defending LeBron James. … Eight players in NBA history that you’d pick ahead of LeBron James. You know what, it’s your day.…