“I’m not taking LaMelo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, or Jayson Tatum over Devin Booker”: Shannon Sharpe disagrees with ESPN’s 25 under 25 list and wants more respect to be put on Suns guard

Shannon Sharpe says his problem is that he would take Devin Booker over Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and LaMelo Ball. 

It Seems as though ESPN has a knack for making lists that are bound to be controversial. They definitely seem to like stirring up debates for more attention through the media. Well, this tactic worked as their list of ‘Top 25 players under 25 for the next 5 years’ had some questionable takes, to say the least. 

Stephen A. Smith took to First Take to wholeheartedly dissociate himself from the ‘analysts’ who made the list, hilariously calling for them to be drug tested.

Shannon Sharpe doesn’t like that LaMelo Ball was placed at number 3 in this list over the likes of Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, and Jayson Tatum. 

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The only reason for why this would make sense is if you look at it from a money perspective. 5 years from now, LaMelo Ball will have inked his first real NBA contract, while the rest of the stars on the list would be making max or supermax money. 

Shannon Sharpe firmly believes Devin Booker needs to be ranked much higher 

Shannon Sharpe shares similar concerns to the general NBA public, as he also disagrees with LaMelo Ball being ranked as high as he is. However, this take plays into his overarching opinion that Devin Booker needs to be top 3 on this list. 

“The problem I have is that they have LaMelo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum in front of Devin Booker. I’m not taking any of those guys over Book.” 

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Many forget that Devin Booker, despite this being his 6th year in the league, is merely 24 years old. Five years from now, he will very much still be in his prime.

He is perhaps the most complete scorer and facilitator on this list of 25 under 25, with only guys like Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum rivaling him in this aspect. 

The 2nd-seeded Phoenix Suns’ offense runs through Chris Paul and Devin Booker, both of whom have built up quite the chemistry on the court, after a rocky start to the season.

Booker has been putting 30-bombs on a nightly basis for the past 10 games or so. Judging by his form, it doesn’t seem like the scoring barrage will stop any time soon.