Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James made waves with some comments he made recently.
In part, the NBA’s oldest player claimed that he never asked to be the face of the league. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst clapped back at that notion by claiming that the star “of course” asked to be the face of the NBA, even if he didn’t do so directly.
James also said that he understands Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards for not wanting that label. As an explanation, James, referencing some comments that his former teammate Channing Frye made, highlighted that “all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s— on everybody.”
LeBron: "Why do you wanna be the face of a league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis shit on everybody."
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) February 28, 2025
Former Lakers guard Nick Young offered a response to James’ comments and pushed back.
‘”I don’t want y’all to talk to me,'” Young said, speaking from James’ perspective. ‘”I don’t wanna be the face of the league. Don’t talk about me. Don’t talk about me. I’m the face of the league.’ What type of s— is this, man? F—, ‘Please don’t talk — I don’t wanna be the face of the league. You’re gonna talk about me.’ This is soft, man. It’s a reason you the face of the league, s—. You gotta take everything — the good, the bad, everything. It’s a reason why you the face of the league.”
Young played for the Lakers during a dark age in the history of the storied franchise. Los Angeles missed out on the playoffs in every one of his four seasons with the team, though he did carve out arguably his most successful NBA campaign during his first season with L.A.
He averaged a career-high 17.9 points per game in the 2013-14 season and finished eighth in the league’s Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Edwards, meanwhile, is still months away from his 24th birthday, yet he’s already staked his claim as one of the best players in the league. He’s averaging 27.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game in his fifth NBA season.
His skill set also makes him a prime candidate to be the next face of the league. Edwards is an incredibly explosive offensive player and can put the ball in the basket in a wide variety of ways.
The former University of Georgia star showed off his versatile scoring arsenal when he torched the Phoenix Suns just a few days ago. He totaled a whopping 44 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field, 6-of-14 shooting from 3-point range and 14-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe.
Edwards will try for a similarly successful offensive outing to the one he had against Phoenix when his Timberwolves take on the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Fortunately for Minnesota, the Hornets have been one of the worst teams in the East this season and in a rut lately. The team has lost all but one of its past 10 games and is currently riding a seven-game losing streak.
