Shannon Sharpe has never been one to shy away from a hot take, and his latest commentary on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers is no exception. During Tuesday's episode of Nightcap, Sharpe ignited a spirited debate when he argued that LeBron James deserves far more credit than he's getting for single-handedly restoring the Lakers' national relevance—but not for the reasons you might think.

Sharpe pointed out that the Lakers have essentially handed the franchise keys to Luka Dončić, allowing him to pick and choose his teammates. But here's the twist: Sharpe believes the Lakers never extended that same courtesy to LeBron James. According to Sharpe, James gets blamed for only winning one championship in Los Angeles, rather than celebrated for dragging a struggling franchise back into the spotlight.

"Lakers weren't on TV like they were," Sharpe insisted. "When they had all them guys and they were celebrating and doing all kinds of crazy stuff, there wasn't nobody talking about the Lakers. We hadn't talked about the Lakers since Kobe's 60-point game. We didn't talk about the Lakers before, and we hadn't talked about them since, until one 23 showed up."

Sharpe didn't stop there. He doubled down, saying, "I don't remember the Lakers being on TV. But I'll tell you who was on TV: the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. They wasn't on TV. Yeah, they was in the L.A. market, but they weren't broadcast nationally. Don't do that."

And he's got a point. In the five years before LeBron signed with Los Angeles, the Lakers averaged a staggering 57 losses per season. They were bad, they were mocked, and they struggled to develop young talent. The franchise was in a full-blown rebuild, and the national conversation had moved on.

But here's where Sharpe's argument gets tricky. Yes, the Lakers were terrible, but they were only five years removed from being a legitimate contender with Kobe Bryant before his devastating Achilles injury. The Lakers brand is one of the most iconic in all of sports, and it didn't take LeBron to make them a national name—they were always that. What LeBron did was bring the winning back. And in a league where legacy is everything, that might be the one thing Sharpe gets right.