Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James kickstarted dialogue throughout the basketball world recently when he spoke about players not wanting to be the face of the NBA because of the perceived negativity from some who cover the game. Many have given their two cents on the topic since then and now LeBron’s agent and CEO of Klutch Sports Rich Paul has spoken on it.
Paul has never been shy about voicing his opinion on topics and this is no different. In speaking about the “face of the league” conversation on The Pat McAfee Show, Paul put some onus on the players and recognizing the things that come with being a superstar in the NBA. And as for the next face, Paul feels there won’t be just one, but a community:
“When you get paid a lot of money, that can’t be the end-all, be-all. I think the care for the game, the approach, the professionalism, how you conduct yourself matters. The things within the game and the integrity that you carry matters. The league can be whatever the players want it to be. I think the league has to be looked at as a partner, it can’t just be looked at as a bank and I’ve said that before several times and I also say that to my guys. There’s a responsibility and accountability that comes with being a professional athlete. It’s even a higher level of that, that comes with being a star or a budding star or one of the legendary guys in the league. I know we had that face of the league conversation and I don’t think there’s gonna be a next ‘face of the league.’ I think there’ll be a community, just like it was when Jordan left in ’98 it became a community. So I think we should embrace that. It’s not naming somebody, if it becomes one face then that’s because that person earned it, but I think it’s multi-faceted. But I look forward to it, I’m really just enjoying a lot of these guys and I’m glad they’re getting their flowers, but I do want them to remember there is a responsibility. Some days you have to play hurt, you know everyone’s not 100% when you get to this part of the season. I think the league is in a good spot, they got the TV deal done. I think there’s some things we can improve on, like everything else in life. None of us are perfect we’re all under construction so its just a matter of how we wanna improve.”
When Jordan retired in 1998 there wasn’t a single player, but rather many who were viewed as possibilities to take over as the face over the ensuing few years. The Lakers had a couple in Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, but the likes of Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Vince Carter were thrown in as well. That could undoubtedly be the same now once LeBron calls it a career, not to mention Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgious-Alexander are all players who can stake a claim. And of course, the Lakers have one of their own in the recently acquired Luka Doncic who has to be in that conversation as well. Even if one player doesn’t emerge as the sole face, Paul is right in that the NBA is in good hands with the number of potential superstars on hand.
Lakers legend Pau Gasol doesn’t believe face of the NBA has to be an American
Another part of this conversation has to do with the international growth of the league and the fact that a number of the top young stars in the NBA are foreign. Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgious-Alexander are all international stars and Lakers legend Pau Gasol, one of the greatest international players ever, feels that is just fine.
Gasol recently spoke on this, saying that with the international growth of basketball, the face of the NBA doesn’t have to come from America. While there are undoubtedly some great American-born stars such as Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards and Cade Cunningham, to name a few, the Hall of Famer believes the identity of the NBA is a global one, and thus the face of the NBA can represent that.
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