NBA In Need Of A Face
LeBron James’ LA experiment failed and it is evident he is no longer the player he once was.
At 34 years old, LeBron James‘ game has fallen off dramatically and the NBA needs to find a new face of the league because James doesn’t have what’s needed anymore.
The face of the league has always been someone whose game has been flashy and effective and that has a personality that draws fans toward them. With this criteria, there are a few people who meet some of these points, but no one who meets them all.
One of the first people who comes to mind is Kevin Durant. Durant has won two final MVP’s and has a similar playstyle to James. There are 2 big issues with Durant, though. He is the second best on his team and he doesn’t like attention from the media. Steph Curry is the best player on the Warriors but is too humble to be considered the face of the league and Durant has said multiple times he doesn’t like getting all of the attention from the media. To be the face of the NBA, he has to want to be in the spotlight all the time.
Another player that could be considered for this is James Harden. Harden has the personality and dominant game, the only issue is that most people hate to watch him play. He dribbles around for most of the shot clock, he’s the only one on his team with the ball or scoring most of the time, and he travels a lot but never gets called for it. People don’t like this about his game and if he’s the face of the NBA, that would turn a lot of people away.
The player who is currently on an NBA roster that could be considered for this is Giannis Antetokounmpo. There are a few problems with Antetokounmpo being the face of the league. The first is that most people can’t pronounce his name. The other, much like Durant, he is a great player who doesn’t want the attention. He has said numerous times that he just wants to play the game and doesn’t want publicity for what he does. This again takes him out of the running for the face of the league.
There is one player who could possibly take the role, but hasn’t been drafted yet, Zion Williamson. Zion is a great college player who is projected to go #1 overall in the draft this year. He has a large social media presence, but there is still an issue with him being the face of the NBA. No one knows if his game will translate to the NBA. He is only 6 foot 7 and plays mostly inside. The way he plays combined with his size makes it to where he doesn’t seem like he will have a long career. He plays extremely explosive and with as much as he weighs, his joints won’t be able to withstand the strain.
With all of this, it seems like the next face of the NBA could be a long way off and they’ll have to keep James in the roll despite the major decline in his game.
My name is Mike Marshall and this is my third year on the PLD Lamplighter staff. In my first year, I was a staff reporter and mostly kept up with schedules...