On Thursday, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James empathized with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards for essentially dismissing himself as the "face" of the NBA during 2025 All-Star Weekend.
Asked during media day if he sees himself as the future face of the league, Edwards quickly replied, "No, not really," because "that's what they got [Victor Wembanyama] for."
Per James, however, that one player wouldn't want to shoulder that responsibility or carry that burden makes total sense. "Channing Frye said it the other day," James told reporters after the Lakers beat the T-Wolves 111–102. "I mean, it's unfortunate but like .... Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s--t on everybody? To have that responsibility, it's just weird. It's weird energy."
On Friday, King James then doubled down on his stance, issuing a long statement on X (formerly Twitter) that (presumingly) frames the criticism he received for the comments as proof of his point.
It is not clear which criticism James might be responding to exactly, but Stephen A. Smith saying during Friday's episode of First Take that he "doesn't appreciate" James's remarks may be in play here.
"Exactly made my point but anyways. Happy this convo has started," James began his post.
"It ain’t about ‘face of the game” and it ain't about one person or one show, it's about the culture of basketball,, the most beautiful game in the world. Our game has never been better. Incredible young stars from all over the world and some older ones.Steph Curry should be all we are talking about today. Let’s discuss how great OKC and The Cavs have been this season with 2 completely different styles and break down why and how they have. Of course if players don’t perform we need to discuss that too and break that down."
He added: "This ain’t about me either. At this point I don't really care what’s said about me. It’s always something. This is about the impact the negativity is having on our beautiful game and our fans. I know I speak for a lot of players and more importantly, a helluva lot of great fans that truly love and celebrate this sport around the world."
Exactly made my point but anyways. Happy this convo has started. It ain’t about ‘face of the game” and it ain't about one person or one show, it's about the culture of basketball,, the most beautiful game in the world. Our game has never been better. Incredible young stars from…
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 1, 2025
This ain’t about me either. At this point i dont really care what’s said about me it’s always something. This is about the impact the negativity is having on our beautiful game and our fans. I know I speak for a lot of players and more importantly, a helluva lot of great fans…
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 1, 2025
In essence, it seems James just wants to see the NBA covered differently, with more focus on the positive aspects of someone's game rather than the negative. The posts are reminiscent of comments from Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2023, when he pushed back on the idea that a season without a title is a season wasted.
As he says, James is definitely not the only player who feels this way. Still, though, there will probably always be a hooper saddled with being the face of the NBA and the extra criticism that comes with it. Hopefully, they want it. But if not ... well, a "c'est la vie" attitude might be the only option there.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Doubles Down on 'Face of the League' Comments in Long Social Media Post.
