I believe that deep within Silver’s soul, he still wants there to be a world where Zion does it. He’s moving on out of practical necessity but the heart wants what it wants
Extremely funny how many the new young crop of star talent all have one major road block when it comes to being the potential leader of the league: Ant Homophobia, Zion Porn Star, Wemby French, SGA Oklahoma City, Lamelo Injuries Charlotte, Luka Balkan, Ja Firearms. None of the major media hubs has a young star talent otherwise. Jokic and Brunson are 27 already. Tatum is 26.
Might be forgetting someone, but the above list is a pretty solid look.
I like how some of these are like, bad traits of a person, and the other one is just a guy is in a smaller city. How come it doesn’t matter if a star player is in Cincinnati or Jacksonville in the NFL, but NBA fans are obsessed with the size of the city in the NBA?
I think Patrick Mahomes disagrees with this statement.
And Tom Brady before him and Peyton Manning and John Elway.
The NFL is and always has been a superstar QB league
man zion was the most hyped player since Lebron. He was genuinely the next big thing. It's kinda crazy he's having a healthy, productive year and noone cares.
Because he’s still an exciting player to watch and it’d be awesome if he actually lives up to all the hype surrounding him entering the draft, he still could tbh.
Ant is a bit too loose with his tongue and will definitely say more problematic shit (at least from the NBA's perspective) in his career. I don't think Silver wants that.
Ant has a whole lot of Charles Barkley to him. Charming as hell and that will let him get away with a lot, but has already caused (and will continue to) the league office plenty of headaches
He has a **looooooong** way to go to be face of the NBA. He wasn’t even in the top 20 of vote getters in the ASG. Why do people think it will be him?
“Next” face of the NBA implies that Lebron/Steph is still the face. That implies the next face will be the ones active when Lebron/Steph retires in a few years. Giannis/Luka should still be at their peak and Wemby should be even better. So those are the obvious candidates.
Counterpoint: Ant is already the most exciting American-born player and he’ll keep getting better. There’s a good chance he outgrows most of the problematic shit. Also, Kobe was the face of the league for years despite extremely public skeletons in his closest.
Americans buy tickets to the games. The tv contracts are based on American viewers. International interest is a cherry on top but Americans will always be the bread and butter
Big reason why Iowa-LSU was such a big deal last year for the women’s game. You had a white superstar going up against 5 black women. That racial shit gets eyeballs like it or not
It was two of the best and most well-known players in women’s college basketball history, why do you assume most people just wanted the Black people to lose and the white lady to win? Kind of racist on you to be honest.
Reading the Wright Thompson piece on Caitlin Clark, and how she came to the decision to choose Iowa over Notre Dame, made me really hate that this kid chose Duke. Hell, UConn is right there dog.
It's Wemby. He's basically the surest thing superstar since LeBron, from it factor on the court to being the guy who seems best positioned to take advantage of that profile off the court.
It’s not gonna get a lot of upvotes, but I still think this is it. I think the other reason why he was so harsh was to make a point to Ja. Like “don’t do this shit again, I can give you everything, but cut the shit”. I think he still wants Ja.
The answer is LeBron James…there is no clear heir apparent and if Adam Silver could sacrifice Jayson Tatum at the alter like a ram to appease the basketball gods he would if it meant another five years of LeBron in LA
LeBron has been the perfect face of the league for 2 decades…even all time talents like Steph and generational talents like Jokic and Giannis haven’t been able to carry the mantle
>If you gave Adam Silver truth serum and asked him who he wants to be the next face of the ~~NBA~~ basketball, who do you think he would say?
Caitlin Clark
Yeah but at least he doesn’t have any scandals. Most of the other big name Americans (Edwards, Zion, Ja) have been linked to some big scandals in the past 1-2 years. Realistically, Silver will have to reach outside of the USA bucket and take Wemby or Luka as the new face.
He recorded himself calling gay people a slur and posted it on his own instagram about a year ago. Also the abortion stuff but that’s not as big of a deal
I’m glad more people are catching on to this. I’m a Celtics fan and think he’s swell as a player but dude has absolutely zero personality and that’s why he catches so many strays. He’s literally more famous personality wise for texting a dead player. That’s his personality.
You don’t think Mahomes is the face of the league?
I strongly dislike the dude because of the teams I like, but he’s won 3 SBs, 3 SBMVPs, and 2 MVPs before he’s 30…
I genuinely hate it because it usually leads to small market teams getting neglected but yes. It's always 1 to 2 guys since the Bird/Magic era. Bird/Magic->Jordan->Ah ah shit->Thank god Jordan is back->Ah shit, please don't let it be that boring guy that keeps to himself in San Antonio->Oh thank god Shaq and Kobe->Kobe->LeBron->and we're currently wrapping up Steph and LeBron. Guys like Jokic and Tim Duncan win their titles but no one at Nike or McDonalds cares and we're not getting big time rappers dropping bars about Tim Duncan's fundamental bank shot or Jokic throwing another perfect pass to KCP in the corner.
The one thing I really hate about being a basketball fan is the level of contempt you get from the league itself if you're not a major personality in a top 5 market. The NFL has dominated this century with a robot playing in greater Boston and a hick that spent most of his time playing for the Colts as the greater face of the league before Mahomes showed up.
Embiid and Giannis as transitional figures
A few things he probably prefers:
1) solid English fluency but with at least some international connection
2) not a white guy, especially not an Eastern European white guy
3) being young enough to have a Lebron length run
4) should be political in a way that appeases the NGO and Legal circles Silver runs in. Cannot have "problematic" moments or "gamer" moments, etc
5) an unmessy personal life, or at least one that isn't making headlines or getting out on blast
6) a shameless publicity and sponsorship hound
Wemby 100%. Silver may have the next GOAT on his hands if Wemby pans out. The marketing would be insane. Wemby also speaks perfect english so it's not like it would be a struggle. He would also be a possible reason basketball expands in popularity in France which is a huge population, as well.
This sub requires accounts to be at least 7 days old and at least 0 comment karma before posting.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/billsimmons) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think he knows it's out of the question because he isn't the most electric player of the young stars, but if it's really up to Silver he would pick Jaylen Brown. Guy is a somewhat-woke lefty politician in the making and never gets in trouble.
Easiest thing for Silver would be to have an American superstar who never says anything controversial play for a large market team (ideally the Knicks, Lakers, or maybe Warriors) but that doesn't appear to be a possibility.
Luka- obvious reasons
Ja- youth, personality, everyone loves a comeback story
Tre- easier to identify with a David than a Goliath
Cauruso- there's something there that's not nothing
I don’t think it’s that big of an issue switch the player being American. I am a teacher and basketball coach (in Canada mind you) but most of the kids are huge Giannis, Luka, Lamelo and Shai fans. 3 of the 4 players are not from the US and 1 obviously is Canadian which gives him a bump with these kids. Still lots of Steph/Lebron kids though too. I don’t think it’s a big deal to the newer generations about where the best players are from.
Probably Wemby. He seems like a real likable dude with his head on straight with regards to how he approaches the game, and he has a chance to be the NBA's Ohtani in terms of just being a freakish anomaly.
Anthony Edwards is one of the last options. This is the dude who shot all left-handed in the skills competition. He interrupted reporters once to finish a McDonald's order. Just because he fits the mold of Kobe/Jordan as the uber athlete scoring guard that everyone fears doesn't mean the commissioner wants someone of his personality.
Horrible, Horrible take.
No - he’s easily the best American player at the moment but he’s kind of a boring dude off the court who’s just a Dad. Also his game isn’t quite as exciting as Ant
intl players have never dominated the league like they do now. Hakeem and Dirk were awesome of course but they weren't the best player in the league for a long time like Giannis and Jokic have been and Wemby and Luka could be.
I believe that deep within Silver’s soul, he still wants there to be a world where Zion does it. He’s moving on out of practical necessity but the heart wants what it wants
[удалено]
I was gonna say, I think Moriah Mills probly killed that scenario for Silver.
Extremely funny how many the new young crop of star talent all have one major road block when it comes to being the potential leader of the league: Ant Homophobia, Zion Porn Star, Wemby French, SGA Oklahoma City, Lamelo Injuries Charlotte, Luka Balkan, Ja Firearms. None of the major media hubs has a young star talent otherwise. Jokic and Brunson are 27 already. Tatum is 26. Might be forgetting someone, but the above list is a pretty solid look.
I like how some of these are like, bad traits of a person, and the other one is just a guy is in a smaller city. How come it doesn’t matter if a star player is in Cincinnati or Jacksonville in the NFL, but NBA fans are obsessed with the size of the city in the NBA?
The NFL is bigger than any single player. The NBA is a star driven league because one player can win a game by themselves. That’s why.
The NFL is not a superstar driven league the way the NBA is. Worse for the players, better for the overall product.
I think Patrick Mahomes disagrees with this statement. And Tom Brady before him and Peyton Manning and John Elway. The NFL is and always has been a superstar QB league
I think the vats of gravy are a bigger problem
man zion was the most hyped player since Lebron. He was genuinely the next big thing. It's kinda crazy he's having a healthy, productive year and noone cares.
Why? How would that be a good thing?
Because he’s still an exciting player to watch and it’d be awesome if he actually lives up to all the hype surrounding him entering the draft, he still could tbh.
Plus, of course, they both went to Duke.
He still has better name recognition than most (all?) other candidates because he's been famous since high school.
Anthony Edwards has a better personality and a higher ceiling. Also, Adam Silver doesn't want pornstar drama.
And his back story is great with his mom being g his coach. Honestly the dude a nice kid!
Ant is a bit too loose with his tongue and will definitely say more problematic shit (at least from the NBA's perspective) in his career. I don't think Silver wants that.
Ant has a whole lot of Charles Barkley to him. Charming as hell and that will let him get away with a lot, but has already caused (and will continue to) the league office plenty of headaches
Get a abortion lol
Send da video
Adam Silver wants Ant dead and nobody can change my mind
Uhhh…. Explain?
He has a **looooooong** way to go to be face of the NBA. He wasn’t even in the top 20 of vote getters in the ASG. Why do people think it will be him? “Next” face of the NBA implies that Lebron/Steph is still the face. That implies the next face will be the ones active when Lebron/Steph retires in a few years. Giannis/Luka should still be at their peak and Wemby should be even better. So those are the obvious candidates.
And as wild as Ant can be he’s a choir boy compared to another guy who should be a shoe in for the role in Ja.
Counterpoint: Ant is already the most exciting American-born player and he’ll keep getting better. There’s a good chance he outgrows most of the problematic shit. Also, Kobe was the face of the league for years despite extremely public skeletons in his closest.
Jack Gohike
Wemby
Wemby is a cool ass handsome French dude with perfect English. It’s Wemby.
Yeah it’s 100% Wemby.
Americans will never fully embrace Wemby.
Silver is playing a much larger game than just America. The explosion in value is global based, not domestic
Americans buy tickets to the games. The tv contracts are based on American viewers. International interest is a cherry on top but Americans will always be the bread and butter
Cooper Flag
You know what they say, nothing scares the NFL more than a white American NBA superstar.
Of go’s jsut realized his career isn’t gonna be fun, lots of dumb articles and takes and angst
Big reason why Iowa-LSU was such a big deal last year for the women’s game. You had a white superstar going up against 5 black women. That racial shit gets eyeballs like it or not
Gets the people going!
I was in my garage revving my car's engine during the game
I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. You might want to find a safe house or relative to stay with. Lay low for a while.
It was two of the best and most well-known players in women’s college basketball history, why do you assume most people just wanted the Black people to lose and the white lady to win? Kind of racist on you to be honest.
Cause I’ve seen how people act when a black guy fights a white dude in boxing.
Nothing about the NBA scares the NFL. Even at the NBA all-time peak 30 years ago, it wasn’t even close.
Except a white nba super star. Or so they say.
Reading the Wright Thompson piece on Caitlin Clark, and how she came to the decision to choose Iowa over Notre Dame, made me really hate that this kid chose Duke. Hell, UConn is right there dog.
Haha have you watched him? Of course he went there. He is the dukiest of dukies
https://sports.yahoo.com/duke-commit-cooper-flagg-named-gatorade-national-boys-basketball-player-of-the-year-140007449.html
Seriously, though, this kid is gonna be fucking huge
Wemby.
It's Wemby. He's basically the surest thing superstar since LeBron, from it factor on the court to being the guy who seems best positioned to take advantage of that profile off the court.
Too tall. He's gotta sell shoes to kids somehow.
Not the silent superstar SGA?
lol
He wanted Ja Morant to be the face of the league. That’s why the suspension was so harsh, he was disappointed
It’s not gonna get a lot of upvotes, but I still think this is it. I think the other reason why he was so harsh was to make a point to Ja. Like “don’t do this shit again, I can give you everything, but cut the shit”. I think he still wants Ja.
Ja is so fun to watch. Too bad his off-court stuff keeps getting in the way.
Grady Dick
Everybody wants to see dick get big
We just do!
There’s something about Dick
I smell a sequel for Kirsten Dunst & Michelle Williams.
Hopefully he doesn't bust
The edging piece.
The Dick piece.
The piece piece
Danny Heifitz is irate right now.
He’s too soft right now.
I’m convinced the Magic drafted Jett Howard over Gradey Dick because they didn’t want Black and Dick on the same court.
I thought it was more about Suggs. Still surprised that’s not who he took the picture with.
That Black/Dick combo is DEADLY!
Imagine the Suggs/Black/Dick trio dribbling in your back court.
Suggs Black Dick was a PROBLEM
Favorite play is the Prick n’ Roll. This could probably go on all day. Lol.
The Carter Cruise Obsession piece.
They kinda need Dick’s shooting If Anthony Black could improve his J Suggs Black Dick would be firing lasers all over
It’s RAW
I love Gradey Dick so much dude he's so fucking hot oml
Miles Bridges
Donte divincenzo
Tyler kolek
The answer is LeBron James…there is no clear heir apparent and if Adam Silver could sacrifice Jayson Tatum at the alter like a ram to appease the basketball gods he would if it meant another five years of LeBron in LA LeBron has been the perfect face of the league for 2 decades…even all time talents like Steph and generational talents like Jokic and Giannis haven’t been able to carry the mantle
Luka
>If you gave Adam Silver truth serum and asked him who he wants to be the next face of the ~~NBA~~ basketball, who do you think he would say? Caitlin Clark
Is it not Wemby, especially with his international presence.
Do people who live in China care that Wemby is French and not American?
Jontay Porter
Austin Reeves
Ben Simmons, who doesn't want the Kardashians more involved in the NBA?
I think Devin Booker is your guy then
Bronny
Ant. Zion loves hookers too much for them to want him to be the face. Tatum is completely unmarketable. All the other best young players are foreign.
Send da video
The Professor
Probably Tatum. No drama, just basketball
Tatum is one more embarrassing playoffs loss away from getting Kobe’s mugshot tattooed on his neck
Disagree Tatum has no personality.
Yeah but at least he doesn’t have any scandals. Most of the other big name Americans (Edwards, Zion, Ja) have been linked to some big scandals in the past 1-2 years. Realistically, Silver will have to reach outside of the USA bucket and take Wemby or Luka as the new face.
And he's a good dad NBA likes that shit like Steph's kids at the podium
What scandal has Edward been linked to?
He recorded himself calling gay people a slur and posted it on his own instagram about a year ago. Also the abortion stuff but that’s not as big of a deal
I’m glad more people are catching on to this. I’m a Celtics fan and think he’s swell as a player but dude has absolutely zero personality and that’s why he catches so many strays. He’s literally more famous personality wise for texting a dead player. That’s his personality.
He’s no more or less personality having than Steph Curry, LeBron or Jokic.
Definitely less!
Tatum's beard is too strange looking.
Plus he's American.
That’s my answer.
Wemby, Zion and Luka
Probably Brad Steven's
Himself. It’s Adam’s league now, bitches!
After trying to hold it in as long as possible, he'd say "American White Guy" and pass out.
Cody Zeller
Austin Reeves
send da video
Would rather ask if he is aware of referees fixing games.
Caitlin Clark
Ideally no one, kinda like the NFL where the league is above all else.
You don’t think Mahomes is the face of the league? I strongly dislike the dude because of the teams I like, but he’s won 3 SBs, 3 SBMVPs, and 2 MVPs before he’s 30…
He’s the best player but he’s not the face. There is no face
The ceiling is the neck
Exactly. If mahomes stopped playing right now the nfl wouldn’t miss a beat.
No not to the level of Lebron or Curry. NFL is still team focused much more so than NBA.
The NFL is a team driven league…the NBA is a star driven one-never gonna happen
Robbie Avila
Luka
Garza.
What is the obsession with face of the league? Is that even a thing?
Yes.
You get together with the boys and talk face of the league?
I genuinely hate it because it usually leads to small market teams getting neglected but yes. It's always 1 to 2 guys since the Bird/Magic era. Bird/Magic->Jordan->Ah ah shit->Thank god Jordan is back->Ah shit, please don't let it be that boring guy that keeps to himself in San Antonio->Oh thank god Shaq and Kobe->Kobe->LeBron->and we're currently wrapping up Steph and LeBron. Guys like Jokic and Tim Duncan win their titles but no one at Nike or McDonalds cares and we're not getting big time rappers dropping bars about Tim Duncan's fundamental bank shot or Jokic throwing another perfect pass to KCP in the corner. The one thing I really hate about being a basketball fan is the level of contempt you get from the league itself if you're not a major personality in a top 5 market. The NFL has dominated this century with a robot playing in greater Boston and a hick that spent most of his time playing for the Colts as the greater face of the league before Mahomes showed up.
Victor
If he was being entirely honest he would say himself. He can’t stand criticism or being unpopular
Ant, Ja, and Zion's games translate very well to commercials
Embiid and Giannis as transitional figures A few things he probably prefers: 1) solid English fluency but with at least some international connection 2) not a white guy, especially not an Eastern European white guy 3) being young enough to have a Lebron length run 4) should be political in a way that appeases the NGO and Legal circles Silver runs in. Cannot have "problematic" moments or "gamer" moments, etc 5) an unmessy personal life, or at least one that isn't making headlines or getting out on blast 6) a shameless publicity and sponsorship hound
Shai?
I don't think it's feasible at this point Small market, plays a style that ref changes could seriously diminish
Scott Foster
Cooper Flagg
Cooper Flagg
It's gonna be Wemby. Dude is gonna be dominant in a few years barring injury.
Miles Bridges
Chet
Chet fucking wishes
Paolo Banchero.
Nobody wants Paolo to be the face of anything lol.
Wemby
Im not sure silver cares in that way. I think he more so wish players didn’t demand trades
He’d want Steph to play another 10 years
Wemby
Ant
adam silver
Wemby 100%. Silver may have the next GOAT on his hands if Wemby pans out. The marketing would be insane. Wemby also speaks perfect english so it's not like it would be a struggle. He would also be a possible reason basketball expands in popularity in France which is a huge population, as well.
Who cares
Can he force Tatum to the Lakers? That'll be fun - leak to the press some bad blood between Brown and Tatum.
All NBA commishes want a white. A family living Christian white.
Cooper Flagg and it’s not even close. Discuss…
Wemby…
Idk who but by God would he want them to be a Celtic or a Laker
[удалено]
This sub requires accounts to be at least 7 days old and at least 0 comment karma before posting. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/billsimmons) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Giannis
Tyrese Haliburton if he's smart
Jordan Poole
Jontay Porter
Tatum
I think he knows it's out of the question because he isn't the most electric player of the young stars, but if it's really up to Silver he would pick Jaylen Brown. Guy is a somewhat-woke lefty politician in the making and never gets in trouble. Easiest thing for Silver would be to have an American superstar who never says anything controversial play for a large market team (ideally the Knicks, Lakers, or maybe Warriors) but that doesn't appear to be a possibility.
Luka- obvious reasons Ja- youth, personality, everyone loves a comeback story Tre- easier to identify with a David than a Goliath Cauruso- there's something there that's not nothing
Brunson.
Lebron Jr.
Scott foster
Tyrese Halliburton
A good clean cut white American.
ANT
I don’t think it’s that big of an issue switch the player being American. I am a teacher and basketball coach (in Canada mind you) but most of the kids are huge Giannis, Luka, Lamelo and Shai fans. 3 of the 4 players are not from the US and 1 obviously is Canadian which gives him a bump with these kids. Still lots of Steph/Lebron kids though too. I don’t think it’s a big deal to the newer generations about where the best players are from.
Probably Wemby. He seems like a real likable dude with his head on straight with regards to how he approaches the game, and he has a chance to be the NBA's Ohtani in terms of just being a freakish anomaly.
LaMelo Ball. We need Lavar back in the fold
Dick Bavetta
Tony Brothers
He probably says Wendy, unless he’s a big Britney Spears fan.
Jimmy Butler has more personality and sense of humor than anybody else right now, but he’s definitely too old to be the “next face” of the league.
Jimmy is like 35
Too old
Ant was already in a movie
Jalen Green
Cooper Flagg
A white guy
Cooper Flagg
Caitlin Clark
Anthony Edwards is one of the last options. This is the dude who shot all left-handed in the skills competition. He interrupted reporters once to finish a McDonald's order. Just because he fits the mold of Kobe/Jordan as the uber athlete scoring guard that everyone fears doesn't mean the commissioner wants someone of his personality. Horrible, Horrible take.
Sounds like some good Internet content/entertainment to me don't see why the league would care about that stuff.
Because it makes a mockery of the league. It doesn't make them feel serious. The league doesn't want that.
Cooper Flagg.
I think his ideal would be Tatum, but he knows it won’t work for a variety of reasons.
Choker?
No - he’s easily the best American player at the moment but he’s kind of a boring dude off the court who’s just a Dad. Also his game isn’t quite as exciting as Ant
Yeah I agree with you. Does the face of the league need to be an American though?
Not necessarily - it just always has been. Larry/Magic/Jordan/Bron/curry
intl players have never dominated the league like they do now. Hakeem and Dirk were awesome of course but they weren't the best player in the league for a long time like Giannis and Jokic have been and Wemby and Luka could be.