Shannon Sharpe compares friend LeBron James to LaVar Ball after Bronny draft whining
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Shannon Sharpe couldn’t EVEN defend friend LeBron James after the Lakers star weighed in on his son Bronny being left off ESPN’s 2024 NBA mock draft.
Sharpe, who usually defends James while on-air, called him out on ESPN’s “First Take” on Tuesday and then compared him to LaVar Ball — the attention-obsessed father of Lonzo, LaMelo and LiAngelo.
It came after James defended Bronny — who is on a minutes restriction in his freshman year at USC after suffering cardiac arrest in July 2023 — in a since since-deleted post on X, asking those concerned about the mock draft results: “Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball.”
James had previously said Bronny was already better than NBA players, flaming the draft speculation.
“It’s the same thing that we did with Lavar Ball, when Lavar Ball said his son [former second overall pick and Bulls guard] Lonzo was better than [Warriors guard] Steph Curry,” Sharpe said while referencing LaVar’s controversial comment on FS1’s “Undisputed” in 2017.
Sharpe, who left “Undisputed” last summer and joined ESPN that September, asked LaVar at the time if he thought he went a little too far with such a bold statement.
“Bro, are you serious? You couldn’t pick any other player?” Sharpe said Tuesday about LaVar.
“When you do that… people are always looking. ‘See, I told you. I thought you said he was all this.’”
Sharpe also called out James for a statement he made on Twitter (now X) in March 2023, when he said Bronny is “better” than some of the NBA talent he was watching on television at the time.
“The mere fact that he’s even playing college basketball should be commended, should be applauded,” Sharpe said. “The man had a very serious heart complication, and now he’s playing, he’s averaging five [points]. So let him come back, lets see what he does when he gets a full training camp up under his belt… he’s on a minutes restriction and they’re able to turn him lose. Let’s see what it can be.”
Bronny — a 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard and top NIL earner, who has deals with Nike, Beats by Dre and more — suffered cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at USC in July 2023, likely due to a congenital heart defect, according to a James family spokesperson.
Prior to that, James had expressed his desire to play with his oldest son in the NBA, and Bronny was touted as a legitimate NBA draft prospect.
After a brief absence away from the Trojans, the 19-year-old combo guard is averaging 5.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game through 19 contests this season.
He’s started six games.
When Bronny was left off ESPN’s 2024 NBA mock draft and pushed back to the 2025 version, James publicly defended his son on social media.
“Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball,” the Lakers star wrote in the now deleted X post. “The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. If y’all don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!”
“And to all the other kids out there striving to be great just keep your head down, blinders on and keep grinding,” continued the four-time NBA champion. “These Mock Drafts doesn’t matter one bit! I promise you! Only the WORK MATTERS!! Let’s talk REAL BASKETBALL PEOPLE!”
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