Shannon Sharpe may not be known for his bizarre takes as much as Stephen A. Smith, but the Hall of Fame tight end recently shared a bold prediction that had everyone on First Take questioning his sobriety.
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Sharpe is one of LeBron James’ most vocal supporters. He frequently sings the King’s praise on and off the court. But his passion as a devoted fan led to what Stephen A. Smith thought was an over-enthusiastic prediction.
Excited over the prospect of a potential Lakers-Thunder playoff series, Sharpe energetically rattled off his opinion on how the series would go down.
“I’ll put it like this… OKC, KFC, UFC, Lakers in 5,” the 56-year-old announced to confused reactions. Considering how dominant the 46-10 Thunder have been the entire season, it’s certainly an ambitious prediction to claim Los Angeles would dismantle the young squad in five games.
Stephen A. couldn’t believe his co-host’s claim, immediately questioning if he heard Sharpe’s prediction correctly. “Did you just say Lakers in 5? You better get drug tested,” Smith responded. “Something wrong with you.”
It’s certainly a courageous stance from Sharpe, but when looking at Stephen A’s past predictions for his hometown New York Knicks, the longtime sports analyst should be the last person questioning someone else’s hot takes.
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Sharpe’s belief that Los Angeles would only drop one contest to Oklahoma City in a seven-game series is a bit outlandish, but he has the utmost confidence in the Purple and Gold after Luka Doncic’s dominant showing.
Of course, it may be an unreasonable prediction, but Sharpe has a history of making these, especially when LeBron James and the Lakers are involved. He’s made a ton of similar predictions about the Lakers in the past, including their 2020 title win.
In fact, it’s become a bit of a trend with him. He’d rattle off a team that the Lakers were set to face, and then add 2-3 completely unrelated items in the mix (that would usually rhyme), before boldly claiming the Lakers would prevail in 5 games.
But then again, he’s had serious reason to do so in the past. Every time he made a prediction in this manner, the Lakers were a seriously well-rounded team, and his claims always had a backing reason to them.
This time though, it seems thoroughly unjustified. His statement comes off the back of the Lakers’ dominant outing against the Nuggets, so it’s easy to assume he’s just being reactionary.
But those who’ve seen Sharpe on TV know it’s never just reactionary. He believed the same thing about the Lakers, even before they brushed past the Nuggets a couple of days ago.
Shannon Sharpe previously backed the Lakers in a potential WCF matchup
A couple of weeks ago, Sharpe highlighted his belief that the then third-place Lakers could eventually claw their way to the top of the Western Conference. With three ball-handlers capable of controlling the game in Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, the Lakers will always have an elite offseason weapon on the floor, he explained.
With L.A. continuing to prove their mettle against top opponents, Sharpe didn’t have any issue lauding how dangerous the Lakers would be come playoff time.
“I tell you what, let [the Lakers] get OKC in the Western Conference Finals,” Sharpe said confidently before being interrupted by his co-hosts. After gathering himself, he continued, “If the Lakers get the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference, we are going to the NBA Finals.”
Sharpe has made his stance clear, siding with experience in a potential battle between the veteran-laden Lakers and the youthful Thunder. Considering the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led Thunder have yet to make a WCF appearance, Los Angeles may be in a better position than some would expect in a playoff matchup.
