Hall of Fame tight end and sports talk show host Shannon Sharpe is no stranger to hyperbole, but he may have gone just a bit too far with his praise for Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James.
On the latest episode of his *Nightcap*show with Chad Johnson, Sharpe declared that LeBron hasn't received enough praise for what he's done for the Lakers since joining them. He declared that the Lakers "weren't on TV like they were" prior to LeBron's arrival and after the late-great Kobe Bryant's final game for the team.
"Lakers weren't on TV like they were. When they had all them guys and they were celebrating and doing all kinds of crazy stuff, there wasn't nobody talking about the Lakers," Sharpe declared. "We hadn't talked about the Lakers since Kobe's 60-point game. We didn't talk about the Lakers before, and we hadn't talked about them since, until one 23 showed up."
"I don't remember the Lakers being on TV. But I'll tell you who was on TV, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors… they wasn't on TV. Yeah, they was in the L.A. market, but they weren't broadcast nationally, don't do that."
https://www.youtube.com/live/IBLc6D6vUn8?si=M1BBO4VC2FBvBq\_J
Sharpe feels the heat
Obviously the Lakers were pretty unwatchable in that dark period between Kobe's retirement and LeBron's arrival (and also for a few years prior to Kobe's retirement too). But that didn't make Sharpe's assertion that the Lakers weren't on TV any less silly, regardless of the context in which he said it.
Needless to say, fans are raking him over the coals for saying that:
"Even during rebuilding seasons, the Lakers remained one of the NBA's biggest television draws. During both the Kobe and LeBron eras, the team averaged more than 41 national broadcasts per season, consistently ranking among the league leaders in national games," one user pointed out on X.
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 29: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers has a moment on the sideline with former Laker Kobe Bryant in the second half during a game against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on December 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) © Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
"Lakers went 8/9 year playoff drought and remained top three in franchise value with Knicks and warriors …they were on tv Shannon you just weren't watching," wrote another.
"This be the problem!! The lie was unnecessary man. The numbers were lower but still high compared to other franchises without a star player and rebuilding. It gets to a point when it's not even being a fan talk anymore but straight riding," a third wrote.
Sharpe pretty clearly was referring to the period in-between Kobe's departure in 2016 and LeBron's arrival in 2020, but he still could have eased up on the hyperbole a bit.
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