Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe made a bet at the start of the season that Anthony Davis would play 65 games in the 2023-24 season, with Sharpe supporting Davis. With Davis playing 76 games, Smith had to pay up and Sharpe made him do so by treating him to an expensive dinner with dry-aged Wagyu which cost $3,200 per pound.
Stephen A. Smith: "Big bro here, and I are going out to dinner tonight because I lost my bet to him, that Anthony Davis wouldn't play 65 games. I gotta pay up tonight, I gotta pay Shannon, so I'm treating him to dinner. He talking about ordering stuff for $3,000.
Shannon Sharpe: "Dry-aged Wagyu, $3,200 a pound."
That had to have been one expensive dinner for Stephen A. Let's not forget that Shannon Sharpe is an NFL Hall of Famer. While he may not be in prime playing condition nowadays, he's very in tune with his body and could demolish a pound-steak with ease. Considering alcohol and appetizers, it's safe to say Stephen A. won't be betting against Anthony Davis in the future.
Davis averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 76 games this season.
Anthony Davis And The Lakers Looking To Pull Off A First-Round Upset
Anthony Davis' hard work over the season was required for the Lakers, who secured the No. 8 seed in the standings before beating the New Orleans Pelicans in the 7-8 Play-In Tournament game to book a date against the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets in the first round.
The Lakers could have strategically lost the first play-in game to try and secure the No. 8 seed to face the OKC Thunder, a team they're 3-1 against this season. However, they chose to take care of business and face the Denver challenge head-on. As Anthony Davis put it, they're not ducking any smoke.
“If they beat us, they beat us. We’re not ducking the smoke.”
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham echoed a similar sentiment in the locker room after their Play-In win. While speaking to the media, Ham made it clear that he fancies his team's chances of pulling off an upset over the reigning champions.
"We're comfortable though. We like where we are, where the spirit of the group is. Everybody is chipping in and excited about this challenge and opportunity. Respect to Denver, they're a hell of a ball club, there's a reason why they're the defending champions. But, we like our chances."
The most elaborate response to the upcoming playoff matchup came from LeBron James, who heaped praise on the Nuggets while reiterating their belief that the Lakers could beat them.
"It's the defending champions. They know what it takes. They know how to win. They've been extremely dominant on their home floor. ... They got an MVP on their team. They have a closer on their team. They have a hell of a coach. We have to play mistake-free basketball to make it tough on them, they're gonna try to make it tough on us obviously. But we're gonna play the greatest game we can play, they're gonna play the greatest game they can play and it's gonna come down to one or two possessions and we'll see who executes then."
This series will command all headlines when the games are played. The Nuggets are 7-0 against the Lakers in the last 12 months, so LA has quite a mountain to overcome this season.
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