Apr 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after missing a pass in the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Apr 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after missing a pass in the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

LeBron James Named Shaqtin’ A Fool MVP For 2024-25 Season

Originally posted on Lakers Nation | By Ron Gutterman | Last updated May 18, 2025 4:05 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is still one of the best players in basketball, even at 40 years old and after his 22nd NBA season. He has completely molded and shifted his game to fit the needs of his teams over the last few years and continues to be one of the most versatile players the game has to offer.

But even with a successful individual season and overall outstanding play, LeBron still had some moments that earned him Shaqtin’ A Fool honors. He missed some wide open layups, air-balled a free throw, had a bad giveaway that led to a historic Chicago Bulls comeback and a few other funny mistakes throughout the year.

In fact, he had so many of those types of miscues this season, that Shaquille O’Neal gave James the Shaqtin’ A Fool MVP for the 2024-25 season:

Your 2024-25 #Shaqtin MVP…

LeBron James pic.twitter.com/fVmLyxBwim

— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 17, 2025

Of course, this does not take away from all the incredible things that LeBron accomplished this season, as O’Neal has always been quick to give the Lakers star a hard time for minor mistakes. It’s also excellent for Shaq’s program to give a player of James’ stature these MVP honors.

The Shaqtin’ A Fool bit has been among the most popular comedic trends in all of basketball since its inception. It was synonymous with players like former Lakers center JaVale McGee for a long time, but has been applicable to many other players as well.

Bronny James discusses being first father-son duo with LeBron James

To begin this season, the Lakers formed a historic pairing by drafting Bronny James to play alongside his father, LeBron James.

A father-son duo has been seen before in other professional sports, but not in the NBA, and the James’ were able to make that history. On Opening Night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bronny and LeBron shared the floor together for the first time, making for an iconic moment.

As a 20-year-old playing for an iconic franchise, on top of his father being a teammate, it must have been a lot to digest. Now that the offseason is here and Bronny can reflect on that moment, he expressed how much it meant to be a part of the first father-son duo in league history.

“It means the world to be a part of that,” the rookie said. “That was a very historical moment for both of us, so I’m just ready to take these stepping stones and keep going up. That’s all I want to do. I want to get better every day as a person and a player and this is the foundation for it.”

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Lakers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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