LeBron James can't put ALL of the blame on the NBA for the rash of injuries this season ... so says Shannon Sharpe, who tells TMZ Sports players deserve some of the finger-pointing too!
Sharpe broke it all down for us at LAX this week -- saying despite Bron's claims ... the players did NOT have to start the 2021 season in December if they truly didn't want to.
"Look, the NBA wanted to recoup some money, they were in a pandemic and lost money," Sharpe says, "but the players wanted to get those paychecks.