After Luka Doncic joined LeBron James in LA, the ESPN personality was one of a number of analysts who fancied a long postseason run.
“OKC, KFC, UFC… Lakers in five!” Sharpe said on First Take.
While NBA scriptwriters were salivating at the prospect of the LeBron-Luka partnership making a Finals charge, they forgot to tell the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 103-96 victory on Wednesday night wrapped up a routine 4-1 series victory — and Sharpe’s words were clearly on the mind of star guard Anthony Edwards.
“What makes it feel even better is that they said Lakers in five but the Wolves won in five games so I think that makes it feel 10 times better,” he said after scoring 15 points in the win.
Social media was flooded with videos of Ant-Man walking the streets of Los Angeles taunting Lakers fans after the win.
“When we was up 3-1, they said Lakers in seven,” he joked. “The good guys don’t die in this movie.”
“Ant-Man, Bat Man, Super Man… Lakers in 5,” he added in another clip.
Sharpe first used the phrase in August 2020, saying, “Whiteside, backside, sunny side, Lakers in five,” in a nod to Hassan Whiteside’s Portland Trail Blazers.
He likes to repeat the saying after a rhyme and claimed that the Lakers were the best team in the Western Conference despite being 10 games back from the Oklahoma City Thunder when he made the latest prediction.
The Lakers failed to live up to the hype, though, and it was time for Sharpe to eat humble pie as he appeared on his Nightcap podcast to discuss the loss.
“I was pressed for time, what I meant to say is Lakers going home in five,” he told seven-time NBA All-Star Joe Johnson. “Y’all don’t let me finish my sentences.”
Fans were having none of it and took aim at Sharpe in the replies for backtracking.
“Shannon deserves the ‘Stephen A Smith Cowboys lost treatment’ for how much trash he talked about the Lakers all year. You can’t lightly brush over that horrendous pick,” wrote one on X.
“Luka cried, Bron tried, JJ is fried… Wolves in 5,” another added in a creative response.
“Nah nah Shannon u can’t do that just admit u were wrong,” a third wrote.
The Timberwolves will now face either Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the Conference semifinals.
A 131-116 Rockets victory on Wednesday cut Golden State’s lead to 3-2 in a close series.
Edwards and his Minnesota teammates can sit back and watch events unfold with a few crucial rest days after dominating the Lakers.
For Los Angeles, it is time to reflect and King James was not ready to share how many more seasons he had in him.
“I don’t know,” the 40-year-old said when asked how long he wanted to keep playing. “I don’t have the answer to that.
“(It’s) something I sit down with my family, my wife, and my support group, and kind of just talk through it and see what happens and just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.”
The Timberwolves are fifth favorites to go all the way, with the Thunder and Boston Celtics out in front.
