Sometimes it feels like there are only two kinds of fans in the NBA — Los Angeles Lakers fans, and people that deal with Lakers fans. The purple and gold have dominated the NBA conversation this season thanks to the still-unbelievable trade for Luka Dončić, which has only emboldened Lakers supporters to be even louder and more boastful than they normally are.
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Legendary actor Jack Nicholson has long been the most prominent Lakers fan, but that title may have shifted to NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe in recent times. Not a day goes by without Sharpe appearing on First Take or the Nightcap podcast with his now ubiquitous “Lakers in five” mantra, and since the Luka trade, it seems that he’s taken his support to another level.
The Lakers got blasted by 22 at home by the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday, and to nobody’s surprise, Wolves legend Kevin Garnett had something to say about it. KG took to Instagram to call out Sharpe and the rest of Lakers nation for their noticeable silence following the loss.
KG on IG pic.twitter.com/y49sAecIer
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) April 21, 2025
Sharpe didn’t shy away from the result, praising Minnesota’s “balanced effort” on Nightcap while saying that Luka was the only one to show up for the Lakers in Game 1. He then emphasized the importance of bouncing back, as falling down 2-0 at home would be nearly impossible to recover from. “This is an absolute must on Monday night,” Sharpe said. “They’ve gotta get [Game 2].”
The Lakers are going to have a tough time winning this series in five, as they’d now need to reel off four straight against a Wolves team that physically dominated them at Crypto.com Arena despite not even getting an efficient game from Anthony Edwards.
Sorry Shannon, but Lakers in five isn’t looking very likely
There’s a lot to fix for the Lakers heading into tonight’s game. L.A. was beaten on the boards while allowing the Wolves to shoot 50 percent from outside, and Austin Reaves had one of his worst games of the season. As The Athletic’s Jovan Buha pointed out, the Lakers have scored under 100 points nine times this season, and three of those have occurred against the Wolves.
The Lakers were able to rest their starters in the final game of the regular season, as they already had the No. 3 seed locked up. That resulted in a week off, and the rust certainly showed. Head coach JJ Redick said after the game, “I’m not sure physically we were ready,” which is a damning statement for one of the most veteran-laden teams in the league.
Redick will need to make some major adjustments to get a different result in Game 2. Jaden McDaniels was unconscious, shooting 11-13 from the floor. Naz Reid dominated too, scoring 23 points while making six threes. The Lakers got no such contributions from their role players, as Luka, Reaves, and LeBron James were the only ones to score in double figures.
Whatever ends up happening in this series, NBA fans can be sure that they’ll hear about it from KG and Sharpe. For Sharpe’s sake, he had better hope his Lakers find their game before it’s too late.
