'IT'S ABSURD'
NBA fans accuse Shannon Sharpe of ‘disrespecting’ OKC Thunder during ‘crazy’ and ‘ignorant’ First Take live TV rant
Even the other panelists weren't fond of Sharpe's rant
NBA fans were not a fan of Shannon Sharpe's rant on the Oklahoma City Thunder during First Take.
The NFL legend did not hold back while alongside Stephen A. Smith on the popular sports debate program.
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Sharpe, Smith, and NBA insider Brian Windhorst discussed the Oklahoma City Thunder who received the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
They won 57 games in the regular season and were given the No. 1 seed tiebreaker over the Denver Nuggets who had the same number of victories.
The Thunder will play a Play-In tournament team in the first round of the playoffs.
And the panel was given the question, "Should [the] Los Angeles Lakers avoid [the] Nuggets in [the] playoffs?"
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If the Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-In tournament game on Tuesday, they'll face the Nuggets.
Otherwise, they'll have to face the winner of the Sacramento Kings-Golden State Warriors matchup and the winner of that game will earn the No. 8 seed and be the Thunder's first-round opponent.
Sharpe believes that the Lakers should lose to the Pelicans and win the next play-in game so they can go up against the Thunder - a team in which he's not impressed with.
"[They] might be the weakest number one seed in NBA [history]," the 55-year-old said.
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Smith was up in arms over Sharpe's take, calling it "very disrespectful" while bringing up Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander, who's an MVP candidate and averaged over 30 points per game.
Sharpe continued, saying the Thunder are the "Weakest number one seed that we've seen in a very long time."
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Windhorst also didn't agree, saying that the Thunder are a "good team" and added that the Western Conference has been "the deepest its been in a very long time."
As for NBA fans, they didn't hold back in their disapprovals of Sharpe's Thunder rant.
One said, "There’s so much disrespect coming towards this young squad. Can’t wait to see them prove the world wrong."
Another commented, "Shannon Sharpe is talking crazy about the Thunder on first take."
A third wrote, "Shannon Sharpe can’t talk basketball. It’s absurd."
The Thunder have the youngest team in the NBA.
They had a 40-42 record last season.
Oklahoma City has gotten contributions from rookie Chet Holmgren, who suffered a season-ending injury in 2022 and averaged over 16 points per game this season.
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During the season, the Thunder went 2-2 against the No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves and 3-1 against the Nuggets.
However, they had just a 1-3 record against the Lakers.
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