While discussing who will be the next face of the NBA on First Take, Shannon Sharpe’s “marital status” take confused both JJ Redick and host Stephen A. Smith. When talking about what makes for an idle face of the league, Sharpe opined that having a relationship with Savannah James helped LeBron James become its icon. The former Undisputed host also brought out a comparison of how presidential candidates are perceived in light of their relationship status with their spouses. However, Redick and Stephen A. Smith were unable to understand what the former NFL superstar was implying.
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“Stephen A, I think you can answer this better, what about relationship status? Magic and Bird was married. LeBron was in a relationship with Savannah. How do we look at it? Because when we look at the presidential candidates we want them to be secure, we want them to be foundational pieces, you know what I am saying?” inquired Shannon Sharpe
To this, an out-of-wits Stephen A. Smith responded, “I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know what the hell you asking?” Redick also expressed his cluelessness about Sharpe’s point. However, co-host Molly Qerim came to the rescue and explained the point regarding the marketability of the face of the league. She gave the example of Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry as the ideal couple building a family and how that helped the league market Steph Curry as its face. Redick quipped that he didn’t expect the discussion to take this strange turn.
Apart from that, he opined, that while LBJ and Steph have been scandal-free, the faces before them have had questionable behavior off-the-court. Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe both agreed with Redick’s point as well. However, this peculiar take by the former NFL athlete does seem to have weight.
Does marriage make for marketability?
LeBron James and Savannah James have been together for more than two decades and have three children now. Their journey together has been celebrated in the NBA for many years now. Apart from that, Kobe Bryant also shared a two-decade-plus relationship with Vanessa Bryant and they raised two kids together. Meanwhile, Magic Johnson has been married to Cookie Johnson since 1991 and she supported him publicly during his HIV advocacy after he was diagnosed with the condition.
While Larry Bird’s first marriage just lasted a year during the mid-1970s, he has been married to Dinah Mattingly since 1989. Therefore, James, Bird, Bryant, and Johnson all maintained long-term marriages while being the face of the league. In addition to these athletes, Michael Jordan’s first marriage to Juanita Vanoy happened in 1989. The couple separated in 2006, three years after Jordan had bid the NBA farewell.
While there have been scandals surrounding Bryant, Bird, Johnson, and Jordan, Sharpe is right about their publicly being with their wives having an impact on their marketability.
