LeBron Finally Weighed In On The "Next Face Of The NBA" Debate And Dropped Some Truth Bombs In The Process

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With generational talents like LeBron, Steph, and KD on the last few holes of their NBA career, there's been natural debate as to which player will take over the mantle as the new "Face Of The NBA". It's a debate that has become impossible to ignore, and depending on who your favorite player/team is, you hear names like Jokic, Giannis, Tatum, SGA, Luka, Ant, Wemby etc. Stephen A Smith is going on TV saying the Face of the NBA can't be a European player (????????), you have people talkin about how the Face of The NBA isn't about accomplishments or on the court production, but rather what their level of "aura" might be. It's all a bit silly if we're being honest.

Then you also have to factor in that some of the guys mentioned in this debate don't even want to be the Face Of The NBA

If there's one perspective on this whole debate/topic that I'm actually interested in, it's probably from the guy who has legitimately been the Face Of The NBA for over 20 years. I'm of the belief that few players know what that responsibility requires and everything else that comes with it by being that guy more than LeBron. 

He was asked about this topic after the big Lakers win last night over the Wolves, and his answer was pretty interesting

Does he have a point? I mean few players have had to deal with more bullshit from the media/narratives/baseless hate more than LeBron. And while some of that might be self-inflicted to some degree, his overall point about how the game of basketball and the NBA as a whole is talked about in the media is a disaster. I'm of the belief the media aspect of the NBA product is one of its biggest issues. That doesn't mean you can't be critical, but that's not exactly what we get. Look at what's going on at the moment, for example. 

Every talking head show right now is doing nothing but clowning on Jayson Tatum for suggesting that he's actually pretty damn good at the game of basketball. Easily the best American born player in basketball at the moment, this is what the discourse is around him pretty much at all times

Why? Because this is the stuff that goes "viral". This is how you get views, ratings, etc. None of it makes any goddamn sense, but that doesn't really matter in today's media landscape. 

I mean, Colin Cowherd basically proved LeBron's entire point in that clip. 

When you look at it that way, you can understand why Ant may have that stance when it comes to being the Face of The NBA. Not only are people who cover the NBA very weird about stuff like this for some reason, you also have a majority of former older players do nothing but shit on today's product, which is very confusing because the NBA has never been better. I don't know if that's jealousy, resentment or whatever, but it's a thing that exists when it comes to the prior generation talking about this new era.

That's basically all Channing Frye was trying to say that LeBron referenced

Personally, I think when it comes to the Face Of The NBA for the next era, it's going to be very similar to what we've seen in this current era. It's not going to be one guy. The same way LeBron/Steph/KD are those guys in this era, there will be multiple players in the next era who hold that mantle. When those guys are retired, maybe it immediately becomes Jokic/Giannis/Tatum if those are the players winning MVPs and titles. Then perhaps they add Luka/SGA/Ant if they finally break through and win a title or some MVPs. In 6-7 years when Wemby is in his prime NBA ages, he'll be in the conversation. That's the beauty of the league right now, the top end talent is INSANE.

As LeBron knows, being the Face of The NBA is something that a player doesn't really choose to be, it's sort of decided for them. As someone who has dealt with that bullshit for 20+ years, his stance on it isn't all that surprising, but it is an interesting perspective.

Oh, and he's still doing shit like this on the basketball court at age 40, so we may not have a new Face of The NBA anytime soon anyways because we are seeing zero signs of regression from LeBron