Marcus Spears’ bizarre 2020 comparison of LeBron James’ teammates to Patrick Mahomes’ did not age well

Here's a throwback to one of the most ridiculous comparisons made by ESPN analyst Marcus Spears.

Marcus Spears’ bizarre 2020 comparison of LeBron James’ teammates to Patrick Mahomes’ did not age well

Marcus Spears analogy comparing the impact of LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes upon their teammates was not the wisest. (IMAGE: via SI/ GETTY Images/ USA Today)

ESPN’s First Take is arguably one of the most popular talk shows, with stellar ratings. While the show features some of the most experienced hosts and retired players who are the reason for its success, there are certain times when some of their takes may be downright ridiculous.

While Max Kellerman is usually known to be the one who gives out bizarre takes ranging from his infamous Cliff Theory surrounding Tom Brady to choosing Andre Iguodala over Stephen Curry for a clutch three-pointer, he has made viewers drop their jaws wide-open. However, this time Marcus Spears, the former defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, was the one who made an absurd comparison between the two greatest athletes of our generation.

Back in 2020, Marcus listed the top 5 MVP candidates in the NFL heading into Week 4 of the regular season. His list had Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Dak Prescott in the same exact order. There was one notable candidate missing from that list, and it was none other than Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Marcus Spears’ analogy indicates he believes LeBron James’ teammates were as talented as that of Patrick Mahomes

LeBron James and Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes has always had better talent on his team than LeBron James has had. (IMAGE: AP/ GETTY Images)

The week prior, Mahomes and the Chiefs had faced off against the reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, and the Baltimore Ravens. The Chiefs ended up beating them 33-28 and Patrick Mahomes outplayed Lamar as he threw for 374 yards and had 3 touchdowns while the reigning MVP threw for 267 yards and had 0 touchdowns.

While in the midst of a debate between Stephen A. Smith and Marcus Spears about the latter’s MVP list, things got a bit heated. Marcus was going at Smith over some of the earlier comments he had made regarding Patrick Mahomes on ESPN’s Get Up.

Here’s what Spears said, “This man tried to tell me this morning when Greeny (Mike Greenberg) asked him about Patrick Mahomes and he started listing all the players around him talking about ‘Oh, look at the weapons…”

However, Stephen A. turned the cards right back on Spears by bringing up an analogy he made on the show. “Hold on…the parts that I brought up around Patrick Mahomes, he (Spears) said that was the equivalent of LeBron having Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson..”

Marcus just compared the situation that LeBron James was in when he was in Cleveland to that of Patrick Mahomes in 2020. That is just absurd. Marcus essentially tried to indicate that Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson are on the same level in the NBA as Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are in the NFL. While his argument that both Mahomes and James make players around them better is valid, the analogy he picked could not have been worse.

Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson needed LeBron James to win a championship and elevate their individual games. He made them look better in the 2015 NBA Finals when Bron had to go up against the Warriors without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. However, in the case of Patrick Mahomes, he had Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, who are legit and, in all likelihood, future NFL Hall of Famers.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QPMtV4hdSGc

In no world can Dellavedova and Thompson even remotely be compared to Hill and Kelce. Take Hill, for instance. This season he did not have Patrick Mahomes as his QB yet, but he did succeed; he did put up monster numbers and showed that no matter who throws the ball to him, he’s going to continue to ball out. The same can be said for Travis Kelce; sure, he is still on the Chiefs and has Mahomes, who throws him some great passes. But do you really think that Travis Kelce would not be able to thrive in a different environment under a new quarterback? Well, It is unlikely.

There is no denying that Patrick Mahomes does make players around him better; however, Marcus Spears’ choice of players to compare his teammates with that of LeBron James was not the best. A better comparison would have been between Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce and Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Love and Irving were talented players without LeBron as well; however, they did need him to ultimately win a championship.

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