Skip Bayless and Stephen Jackson unite in calling Shannon Sharpe’s praise of LeBron ‘scary’

Former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe has long been a strong defender and supporter of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. Back in April, he responded to a claim that he was bought out to praise the NBA’s oldest player.

Recently, Skip Bayless implied that the love Sharpe has for the four-time Finals MVP and 20-time All-Star is a bit odd.

“I was often thrown up against Shannon Sharpe, who loves LeBron like a brother,” Bayless said. “I mean, like a stalker if you reveal the truth. I mean, it got a little scary for me sometimes, alright? But he’s just proclaiming, ‘LeBron better than [Michael] Jordan.’ Well I’m the biggest Jordan fan. … I get goosebumps talkin’ about Michael Jeffrey Jordan.”

In Sharpe’s defense, while he is quick to praise James, the 39-year-old is also worthy of plenty of praise.

James is one of the best players in NBA history and might be the top player of his generation. He might not have Jordan beat in terms of titles won — he has four compared to the former Chicago Bulls star’s six — but James’ longevity is arguably unlike anything the league has ever seen.

Jordan played 15 years in the NBA, which is certainly an impressively long pro tenure. However, James is in his 22nd season in the league and is still an elite all-around talent.

James is enjoying the best 22nd season in the NBA of any player ever thus far, as he’s averaging 23.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game across 12 games played so far in the 2024-25 campaign. His scoring efficiency has also been nothing to scoff at, considering he’s buried 52.3 percent of his shots from the field and 44.6 percent of his 3s to this point.

Not only is James stuffing the stat sheet, but he’s also leading the Lakers to wins. Los Angeles is riding a four-game winning streak, and at 8-4, the team sits as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are as hot as any team in their conference, as their four-game winning streak is tied with the Houston Rockets for the longest active streak of any of the West’s 15 teams.

Los Angeles also will soon have a golden opportunity to balloon its streak to five games. The Lakers will take on a 4-9 New Orleans Pelicans team on Saturday night.