LeBron James Oct 14, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers small forward LeBron James (6) smiles from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Find someone who appreciates you the way LeBron James appreciates ESPN’s Marcus Spears on NFL Live.

James already stated he’s interested in becoming a sports analyst after seeing the deal Tom Brady signed with Fox. But maybe media analyst is in his future. Earlier this week, James spontaneously tweeted his assessment of Spears on NFL Live. And the NBA superstar offered a glowing report of the former Dallas Cowboys defensive end.

“Man I watch NFL Live almost every day cause I simply love football but I watch it even more when @mspears96 on there!” James (seen above in an Oct. 14 game against the Sacramento Kings) tweeted. “Dude IQ of the sport is dope, funny as hell and you can tell he just being himself! He Don’t be hating, just be speaking the game and its facts.”

That’s a solid testimony for Spears to keep in his back pocket and bring into his next contract negotiation with ESPN. Luckily, Undisputed is off this week because of World Cup coverage on FS1. We don’t need to hear Skip Bayless rail against James for spending time watching NFL Live when he could be reviewing basketball film of his reeling Los Angeles Lakers.

Spears is also a frequent contributor to First Take and Get Up, in addition to co-hosting the Swagu & Perk podcast with Kendrick Perkins. NFL Live hosted by Laura Rutledge alongside Spears, Dan Orlovsky, Keyshawn Johnson, Mina Kimes and Ryan Clark is one of ESPN’s more universally lauded studio shows. But for James, at least, it appears as though Spears is the one who keeps him coming back.

In an era where so many pro athletes have the propensity to rail against analysts and broadcasters in the name of the “new media,” it’s refreshing to see someone like LeBron give Spears his flowers.

[LeBron James on Twitter; photo from Kelley L. Cox/USA Today Sports]

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com