Speaking on his, Off Guard podcast, the former Clippers and Pelicans star claimed that the NBA currently does not have a generational talent capable of becoming the face of the league. Claiming that the likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant had been the last truly generational talents, Rivers said that James continued to be the face of the league, even at the age of 38. The clip was shared on Twitter by ClutchPoints.
Advertisement
Rivers had a logical take on Denver Nuggets’ star Nikola Jokic, who led his team to the NBA title just last season. “[Nikola] Jokic doesn’t want it and he doesn’t have the game for it in terms of style and flash and just overall fanfare. He is must-watch TV, but listen man,” he said, before talking about the holy trinity once again.
He suggested the kind of things LeBron, MJ, and Kobe could do, that nobody else could. “There are things that LeBron, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant could do, just from an aspect of the ‘awe’ standpoint, in the air, the dunking, the moves, the quickness, the whole body of work right? We don’t have that,” he said, before talking about the players he thought were the usual suspects.
Rivers mentioned the likes of Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, and Jayson Tatum, claiming that the three needed to win a ring to truly become the face of the league.
Rivers concluded by saying that the NBA simply did not have a truly generational talent who could come in and change the game. He concluded that people had been spoiled as they got to see MJ, LeBron, and Kobe virtually back-to-back.
“We’re still relying on LeBron [James] to be the face of the league… There are things that LeBron, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant could do, just from an ‘awe’ standpoint, that we don’t have.”
— Austin Rivers
(via “Off Guard”, @ringer)pic.twitter.com/zH0W8B6ckO
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 10, 2023
“We have a couple of guys who are in the mix, of generational talent. A Kevin Durant, a Steph Curry, who are also, a generational talent,” he claimed. Hence, for Rivers, the younger guys had not even breached the level the likes of KD and Steph had reached and needed to land a championship to truly enter the conversation.
That of course, as his claims about Jokic prove, is not simply about a trophy. Becoming the face of the NBA also required a certain level of flair and style, which Jokic unfortunately does not possess, according to Austin Rivers.
The NBA is currently looking for its successor to LeBron James
LeBron James by winning the In-Season has proved that he continues to be the face of the league. The likes of Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry also continue to play at a high level despite their advancing years.
However, the league is truly in need of some of the young stars to truly take over. The likes of Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Devin Booker all certainly have the potential to become that guy, as well as the marketing potential. However, none of them have truly been able to capture the kind of hype and excitement that surrounded the likes of LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Kobe Bryant.
Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry came close, and have aptly revolutionalized the game in their own ways. However, while the NBA is brim full of potential and young superstars, recreating the magic of the aforementioned stars continues to be a challenge. One such name was also that of Victor Wembanyama.
However, the San Antonio Spurs have failed in recent weeks to bring an end to their continued downfall, despite Wemby showing plenty of promise. As things stand, it is clear that LeBron’s throne is yet safe for the time being, and the suitors need to step up in order to claim it from the 38-year-old, who is intent on defying biology.
