The NBA Is Desperate For A Post-LeBron 'Face of the League'

Professional team sports are often as monocultural as their biggest star is culturally influential.

Basketball peaked with Michael Jordan, hockey with Wayne Gretzky, baseball with Barry Bonds and football with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

Stars, not storylines, attract interest from casual viewers. 

Three of the four leagues are well-positioned presently and for the future. MLB has Shohei Ohtani, 29. The NHL has Connor Bedard, 18. The NFL has Patrick Mahomes, 28. Each of those three leagues is thrilled with their protagonists of the next decade. 

Then there's the NBA, the one most dependent on that one, singular top star.

Colin Cowherd raised said point on Monday, acknowledging that the NBA continues to shed interest as it struggles to find a successor to LeBron James:

"The NBA ratings are down severely" added Cowherd. "I think it's because they don't have a face of the league [in place] and I'm not sure they have one on the horizon."

As Cowherd notes, the "face of the NBA" must not only be the best player in the league but also have the charisma and marketability to complement his game – i.e. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. 

LeBron is still a star. But he's 39 years old. His brand is political. He's dismissive of half of the country. Those fans are dismissive of him, in return. See the ratings.

Plus, he is no longer the greatest player in the game. Nikola Jokic is.

However, Jokic doesn't ooze the star power requisite to be the lead character. His methodical, nostalgic style of play doesn't translate to highlight reels on TikTok and Instagram. His basketball acumen isn't a satisfying substitute for slam dunks, alley-oops and behind-the-back passes.

Jokic doesn't look like a Greek God. He's sort of pudgy and pale. He is European, a factor that traditionally limits one's ability to transcend stardom.

And any praise he receives is often met with toxicity from the NBA media. An ESPN article cast Jokic as "The Great White Hope" last June, suggesting he's "only good for a white player."

Simply put, the gatekeepers of the NBA – ESPN, Disney, Nike and China – do not want a white face of the league.

Jokic is not The Guy.

We can also rule out Luka Doncic, who is just as white, European and boring as Jokic.

Luka is averaging 34.5 points per game this season and barely makes the rundown for daily sports talk programming.  The heir apparent to LeBron at least has to be interesting enough to justify endless choreographed debates on "First Take." 

Luka is not The Guy, either.

Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic of the Western Conference look on during the game against the Eastern Conference during the NBA All-Star Game.

( Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Giannis Antetokounmpo is probably the third-best player in the league, behind Jokic and Luka. While more compelling to consume on the court, Antetokounmpo is also European. He also doesn't have much to say. 

Antetokounmpo won a championship three years ago and his star power barely ascended. His long-term commitment to stay in Milwaukee suggests his stardom has likely plateaued.

Joel Embiid is the most interesting personality of the four. Yet he turns 30 next month. He's frequently injured. His game has yet to translate into postseason success, mostly because injuries so often limit him.

Jokic, Luka, Giannis, and Embiid are great players. None of them are The Guy. Maybe one of the younger, more up-and-coming stars is. 

If so, it's hard to finger-point who that may be. 

Let's survey:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 31 points per game. He has a cool nickname, "SGA." And … that's about all. He plays in Oklahoma City, lacks a jump-off-the-screen style of play and is aloof on camera. 

SGA is certainly not The Guy.

Nor is Jayson Tatum. 

The Celtics' forward is the best American-born player in the NBA currently. Yet he too lacks the charismatic personality or the on-court success to convince any honest skeptic he's the natural successor to LeBron. 

Tatum is a good player. He's not a great player.

The same should be said for Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Jalen Brunson and Tyreke Maxey – all of whom are fine players

And that brings us to Anthony Edwards.

Edwards is just 22. His personality is intriguing. He appeared in "Hustler" alongside Adam Sandler. He can play. 

Still, he's more Dwyane Wade than LeBron James. Listed at 6 foot 4, there are questions about just how impactful he can be as a true No. 1 option. 

Edwards is not Steph Curry, who transcended the game of basketball with his shooting marksmanship. He's a co-lead. He will be a face of the NBA over the next decade. But not the face.

That leaves us with one name, as we sit here today: Victor Wembanyama. 

The most hyped prospect since LeBron is a freak. Literally. His arms are the size of a fire hose. He plays on both ends of the floor. He's only 20 years old.

Of the candidates, Wembanyama is the most promising. However, it's early. We aren't ready to crown him as the next "face of the NBA."

The concerns are valid. He's not American-born. He doesn't have the natural personality of previous megastars on the court. His tall, grossly-slender frame worries scouts in terms of long-term durability. 

Wembanyama resides in San Antonio, hardly the most glamorous of cities. Ask Tim Duncan, who never crossed over to mainstream interest. 

And we do not know just how great Wembanyama will be as a player. He may have to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on offense and Bill Russell on defense to override his inherent marketing limitations.

What's more, Wembanyama is probably three to five years away from proving whether he's the answer.

Such a time frame is not ideal for the NBA. The league needs juice sooner. Its rights deals with ESPN/ABC and TNT expire next season. Both networks have already leaked to the Wall Street Journal that they want less NBA to reduce their investments in the sour product. 

A new, transcendent star is the solution to the NBA's woes. Without one, expect the league to limp into negotiations with no clear succession plan for LeBron James.

That could be wounding for a league that's already lost 45% of its audience since 2012. 

The NBA needs to find The Guy.