Watch: LeBron James shows love to Shannon Sharpe after LA Lakers' statement win over Atlanta Hawks

Arguably no other TV personality has been as staunch a defender as Shannon Sharpe is when it comes to LeBron James. The three-time NFL Super Bowl winner considers the four-time NBA MVP to be the greatest to play the game of basketball.

Just after the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the LA Lakers, the two shared a moment that should delight their fans.

The heartwarming hug between the two superstars is in stark contrast to what is going on between LeBron James and Skip Bayless. Sharpe’s co-host with “The Undisputed” never misses an opportunity to bash the LA Lakers superstar.

On more than one occasion, the former Denver Broncos tight end has had to defend James from some of Bayless’ often uncalled for attacks.

The last time Shannon Sharpe saw James play against the Atlanta Hawks was on James’ birthday when the four-time champ dropped 47 points. Here's what Sharpe had to say after the soon-to-be 19x All-Star torched the Hawks on Dece. 30:

"“You saw it! A virtuoso! A great violinist at the Sydney Opera House! That's what you saw! Glo and Savannah in the house and he said: ‘Mama, there goes that man again!’”

“King James” wasn’t nearly as impressive tonight, but he still showed the way in leading the Lakers to a 130-114 victory. James must have also been in cruise control as the Lakers' 26-point first-half lead looked insurmountable.

James still finished the game with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. He struggled earlier in the game and in the fourth quarter but ended up making 10-19 field-goal attempts. The Lakers superstar, however, was only 1-5 from behind the arc.

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Shannon Sharpe thinks the LA Lakers will be a "scary team" when Anthony Davis returns and LeBron James keeps his form

A healthy LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be cause for concern among Western Conference teams.

While some analysts believe the LA Lakers' season is too far gone, Shannon Sharpe is holding out hope. As long as LeBron James and Anthony Davis are around, he's not going to give up on Darvin Ham's squad.

After their win against the Hawks, they've crawled to within just one game behind the Utah Jazz for the 10th and final play-in spot. Utah are 20-21 but have slumped to 3-7 in their last 10 games.

At 9th place is the Phoenix Suns, who will not have Devin Booker for at least a month. They have also just lost point guard Chris Paul to hip soreness. Even if "CP3" quickly returns, losing Booker could push them down the rankings.

Here's the Hall of Fame NFL tight end on the Lakers' outlook over the next few months:

"If Anthony Davis can come back mid-January, maybe early February and LeBron James can still play at this level, we get guys contributing, I think the Lakers can get to the play-in.

"When they get to the play-in and have Anthony Davis, I think they're going to be a very, very scary team.

The LA Lakers seem to be peaking as they wait for AD to return. If they can sustain this form, particularly LeBron James' incredible play, once Davis is available, they could make noise in the West.