The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns thanks to a last-second shot from Royce O’Neal. And it was enough for noted fan Shannon Sharpe to throw in the towel on the season, and maybe even the direction of the franchise as a whole.
It hasn’t all been a disaster for the Lakers this season, but the drama surrounding LeBron James, the conversation around Luka Dončić, and the Succession-style ownership intrigue have overshadowed the season.
In spite of the loss to the Suns last night, the team still sits in sixth place in a stacked Western Conference. But it’s clear the team is closer to the play-in group of teams than they are actually contending for a championship.
And that’s something that is never going to sit well with their fanbase, even a dedicated superfan like Shannon Sharpe.
On his Nightcap podcast with Chad Johnson, Sharpe admitted the Lakers were a “bad basketball team.”
Shannon Sharpe rips the Lakers after last nights loss:
“They’re a bad basketball team. I know everybody say LeBron needs to leave, but you think a backcourt of Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic are a championship contending team? They’re not a championship team with LeBron, they… pic.twitter.com/dZCndcWFxE
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 27, 2026
“They’re a bad basketball team,” Sharpe said. “I know everybody says, well LeBron needs to leave, but you think LeBron leaving and they load up on a backcourt of Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić. If you think the Lakers are a championship contending team, they’re not a championship contending team with LeBron. They’re not. They’re not going to be a championship contending team without LeBron.”
Sharpe also had some comments about Luka Dončić, saying that he can’t change his stripes when it comes to playing defense and arguing with officials. While it’s still universally agreed that the Lakers getting Dončić straight up for Anthony Davis was one of the most unbelievable deals in the history of pro sports, the narrative is starting to turn against the Lakers superstar as some of his deficiencies are falling under a larger microscope.
In fact, Shannon Sharpe may have come to the same conclusion that former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison did. It’s tough to win with Luka on your team.
“You got Luka. But a lot of times Luka numbers don’t correlate to winning. When a guy has 41, 8, and 8, you’re like damn. He only had 3 turnovers, but he leads the league in turnovers. He had a couple of steals, but he just can’t play defense Ocho. He just can’t. He’s never going to be able to play. Tonight was little better as far as arguing with the refs because every time he’s arguing with the refs, he’s doing this, he’s looking for a call. But that’s who he is. So we might as well move on past that, saying Luka stop arguing. It’s not going to happen. And he’s said, ‘well I need to stop arguing with the officials.’ You can’t. That’s who you are. That’s your make up.”
Maybe Brian Windhorst was onto something during the 2024 NBA Finals after all when it comes to Luka winning a championship. The most troubling thing for the Lakers is that if and when LeBron James leaves this season, they won’t be any closer to contending in the west. And they may have to look at some serious foundational changes if they want to get back to the top.
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