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First Take hosts joust over Jayson Tatum and LeBron’s place on NBArank 2023

By Justin Alcaide

First Take hosts Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe diverged on the rankings of LeBron James and Jayson Tatum on ESPNrank 2023 Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
First Take hosts Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe diverged on the rankings of LeBron James and Jayson Tatum on ESPNrank 2023 Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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On the October 17 edition of First Take, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe diverged on their opinions of where LeBron James and Jayson Tatum should be ranked within ESPN’s NBArank Top 10.

When being asked about the list, First Take star and media personality Stephen A. Smith said “One I cannot have a top 5 list without Lebron James on the list — that’s just blasphemous.”

Stephen A. would then say “At four Lebron.”

When it came to Tatum’s ranking, Stephen A. stated, “I got Tatum at 7 — he’s a superstar who shows up in big games. Give him credit where credit is due, by the way, plays some defense as well at only 26 years old.”

Sharpe went in a different direction. “I got Jayson Tatum, (then) I got Lebron,” said Sharpe.

In that context Shannon had Tatum ranked sixth in the NBA Rankings while having Lebron at No. 7. When asked why Lebron ranked where he was, Shannon stated “Why, I gotta I gotta get 65 games, and the last couple of years I haven’t been getting that, can’t keep giving me 55 I need more.”

The two had different views on Lebron. While both have been known in the past to support Lebron, it seems like Stephen A. Smith wants to reward James for his legacy more than Shannon does. Sharpe seems concerned about LeBron’s availability later in his career while Tatum is young and ready to keep proving himself.

Shannon Sharpe has the correct take on Jayson Tatum and LeBron James’ NBArank 2023 placement

At this point, I would have to agree with Sharpe. With Tatum entering his prime it is only safe to assume that the Boston Celtics star will be the better player for this upcoming season.

Lebron has accomplished almost everything one could want to accomplish in the NBA and his injury history does make it hard to trust his future performance. At this time, Tatum is hungry and ready to win his first NBA Championship.

It is time for Jayson Tatum to step up and make the NBA his world. While Lebron is still a top player in the league putting him behind Tatum just makes sense.