Did former Lakers champ Shannon Brown die? Viral claim debunked

The Lakers nation suffered a shock as news of two-time NBA champion Shannon Brown’s death flooded the community. On Wednesday, the former Lakers guard’s Instagram account shared an article about his demise on its Instagram story.

The story featured a screenshot of the article’s headline instead of a link or an announcement. The story’s caption featured Brown’s name and his life’s timeline. While the story might have fooled many fans, there is a high chance that Brown’s Instagram account has been hacked and the story is nothing more than but a prank by the hackers.

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The article's headline featured on the story revealed Shannon Brown's cause of death to be a stroke. It also mentioned that Lakers star LeBron James and other former Lakers stars rushed to LA last night. However, as of now, no reports have suggested that anything mentioned in the story is true.

LeBron James has not shared any Instagram story grieving his former Cavaliers teammate. Assuming that the news is true and Brown's family had access to his social media account, it is also very unusual for them to announce his demise to promote an article rather than issuing a formal statement.

Shannon Brown won two rings with the Lakers while playing alongside Kobe Bryant in 2009 and 2010. He last made a social media post on Jul. 27.

Fans react to Shannon Brown's IG post

Follwing the unusual behaviour on Brown's Instagram account, a Lakers social media outlet shared the story's screenshot on X, formerly Twitter. The fans flooded the post's comment section with some expressing skepticism on the news.

"This don’t even look real cmon man," one fan said.

Frieza’s Burner

@King_Cold_Son

This don’t even look real cmon man.

"Nothing in the news...1541L/17th," another fan said.

"Stop posting sh*t before you research first tubby," another fan said.

One fan questioned the integrity of the article's link shared on Brown's story. He used an AI chatbot to research the article's authenticity. The chatbot revealed that the Fiatgri.co, the website where the death article is published is associated with spreading fake death news.

"He’s fine it seems," the fan commented.

Matt

@RbiTriples

He’s fine it seems

"Maybe wait for news to be confirmed before rushing to post that someone died," another fan said.

"According to the “article,” there’s already been a candle light memorial by fans outside the arena. Come on man. Smh," another fan said.

The Facebook account that originally shared Shannon Brown's death news which was then shared on the former Lakers star's story after the hack, has also been posting fake news regularly.

Their most recent post includes an article reporting Lou Williams' death, LeBron James' final retirement game, and Lamar Odom's death. All of these posts are made within a two-day timespan. None of these topics has been covered by mainstream media, making them nothing but a blatant and bold attempt to misinform the public.

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About the author

Avi Shravan

Avi Shravan's first year of college was the year he discovered his passion for basketball and the NBA. He has been an ardent fan of the sport ever since, from waking up early to cover games to watching pundit discussions, he does it all.

Avi is a big fan of Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks and Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves and firmly believes that the young star is the next big thing in the NBA.

Avi graduated in Mass Communication and Journalism, further enhancing his skills as a journalist and a writer. In his spare time when he is not writing, you can find him playing video games, watching anime, or reading a book he randomly picked at a bookstore.

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