Shannon Sharpe is about as big of a LeBron James stan as there is in sports media, and it’s a role he’s gleefully embraced in recent years. Sharpe thinks he’s the greatest basketball player of all time, and he’s not afraid of dressing up to show it.
It’s made for some funny moments on his FS1 show, sure, but Sharpe is serious about his appreciation for James and what he can do on the basketball court. That hasn’t changed now that LeBron will play in Los Angeles for the Lakers, and as that team’s roster is assembled, many people have wondered what exactly the Lakers are doing.
JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley will all play for the Lakers this fall, a curious assemblage of veteran players with unique personalities to say the least. And because it’s July, it’s easy to speculate just how all those personalities will work together on a team that also has Lonzo Ball and, well, his father lingering on the outskirts of the franchise.
Some think this is a potential recipe for disaster, but Sharpe isn’t worried about that. In fact, he says no matter what happens or who the Lakers sign this summer, they’re a 50+ win team. Sharpe employed a Top Chef comparison in a segment with Chris Broussard where they discussed just what’s happening in Los Angeles this summer.
"You watch Top Chef. They might give you chocolate, lobster, fettuccini … and what do they make? Something delicious. They just handed LeBron a whole bunch of stuff that doesn't go together. Now watch this meal come out tasting good to 54 wins." — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/kiVGX7R1rf
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 23, 2018
“You watch Top Chef, they might give you chocolate, they give you lobster, they give you fettuccini, all kinds of things that don’t go together,” Sharpe said. “And what do they make? Something delicious. They just handed LeBron a whole bunch of stuff that doesn’t go together. Now watch this meal come out tasting good to 54 wins.”
Sharpe is wrong because what the Lakers are doing is not like an episode of Top Chef. It’s more like Iron Chef, where the secret ingredient is sea urchin roe and oh my god why is he pulling out the ice cream maker. What then follows are a fraught few minutes where someone turns the sexual organs of a sea mace into a cool treat. But then it comes out looking pretty good and, hey, you can’t taste it so you can only really take the judges’ word for it.
Anyway, Broussard repeated the line that’s been out there for a while: A lot of the players the Lakers brought in are James’ suggestion, which means he’s satisfied with the teambuilding that the Lakers have done this year. Besides, James is certainly no stranger to playing on teams filled with seemingly disjointed players. Maybe that’s how he prefers it, and maybe a 54-win season is on the horizon for the Lakers no matter how they cook it.
