You know you’re in an age of podcasts when one of the most influential stars of the league starts his own show to get his voice heard. Yes, LeBron James has finally started his own podcast with JJ Redick. The very first episode of the podcast has already led to veteran NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith disagreeing with the 21-year-veteran’s take on who the most influential players have been in recent times.
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LeBron James and JJ Redick just started their own podcast named, Mind The Game. The podcast aired its first episode where James talked about some of the most influential players in recent NBA history. The four-time NBA champion picked Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson as two players who may have influenced the most fans and viewers.
“Steph and Allen Iverson are the two biggest influential guys in our game since I’ve been watching and covering it…Allen Iverson and Steph, they were just so relatable and kids felt like they could be them.”
If there is someone you can expect to disagree with LeBron James, it is none other than SAS. Smith ‘respectfully’ disagreed with James’ take and named two other players instead of Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson.
Smith initially agreed with where LeBron James was coming from. He took consideration of how fans would see if they’re taller than AI and would assume they could do things he was able to do in the league.
He even took in Curry’s take on being just a shooter and not having to be tall or being athletically gifted by jumping over people. The sports analyst took into consideration how fans and aspiring players could be influenced by that.
But he still chose Michael Jordan and LeBron James himself as the two guys who are above Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson.
“The day and age we’re living in right now, people are about being entrepreneurs. People are about having their own voice, taking command of their own careers and what have you. We see the Jordan brand worked over a billion Dollars, we see LeBron James now being in that stratosphere. Not to mention the fact that LeBron James is a person who spoke his own mind. That’s what we have to pay attention to. A lot of folks are following LeBron and MJ more than AI and Steph.”
Stephen A. Smith might not be completely on point here with players or aspiring fans following LeBron James or Michael Jordan’s moves off the court. First of all, when James mentioned Steph and AI, he referred to how viewers are influenced by their game, their appearance, and the things they did not the court.
Smith on the other hand may have been referring to players following in the footsteps of MJ and LBJ in terms of building their business, after making it into the league. So, Smith might’ve gone the extra or the next step when it came to a certain player’s influence.
Steve Kerr and Arenas agree with LeBron James
LeBron James naming Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson as the two most influential players is being picked apart by numerous other analysts and former players with their own podcasts on various platforms. But it was Steve Kerr who had once agreed with LBJ’s take regarding Stephen Curry and the influence he has had on young kids growing up and watching him play.
“I think that is really, really accurate. And I would agree without really giving it a ton of thought…What Steph has done is he’s just made it normal to shoot a million threes and shoot 32-footers. Nobody else did that.”
Even Gilbert Arenas chimed in and agreed with LeBron James’ take. He did take into consideration the influence Kobe Bryant has had but felt that kids emulated Iverson and Curry more because it was next to impossible for the majority of the young fans to do what Kobe Bryant did on the floor.
Now, whether LeBron James is right or not becomes a subjective topic of interest. Let’s see if anyone else weighs on LBJ’s most recent opinion.
