One of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s goals was to make basketball a global game. Mission accomplished! Now, many of the best players are foreign-born, like Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith believes that, as talented as those international stars are, an American-born player like 23-year-old Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards should be the face of the NBA.
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The 23-year-old All-Star, however, has vocalized his distaste for being the poster boy of the NBA. He believes other players have the necessary skills, and he doesn’t want to carry the burden of that responsibility.
Smith took to ESPN’s First Take to share his disagreement with Edwards’ opinion. He urged the three-time All-Star to reconsider his mindset while boldly claiming international players could never own that role. He said,
“I don’t believe an international player can be the face of the NBA. I know they’re global iconic figures, their popularity extends globally, but the NBA is an American-born sport.”
The popular sports media personality didn’t mince his thoughts. He defended his argument by stating a potential face of the NBA needs to resonate with America. Due to the cultural divide with foreign-born players, he believes that will never be able to happen.
In Smith’s defense, he didn’t state the problem without raising a solution. Smith is aware he can’t change Edwards’ mind. However, he urges the Timberwolves star to reconsider, since he has the star power along with the personality to flourish as the new front man.
Smith has never been on board with an international player being the face of a league
The NBA isn’t the only major sports league experiencing dominance from foreign-born players. The MLB has notoriously abundant international talent, and the face of the league is already an international player, Shohei Ohtani. While Smith can acknowledge the Dodgers mega star’s greatness, he believes his front man status is damaging baseball.
Ohtani has transcended the sport with his two-way ability as a pitcher and a hitter. However, in 2021, Smith didn’t hold back on his concern for crowning Ohtani with this honor. He said,
“The fact that you got a foreign player that doesn’t speak English, that needs an interpreter, believe it or not, I think contributes to harming the game to some degree, when that’s your box-office appeal.”
Historically, the face of the major American-based sports are athletes who were born in the US. But the times are changing. Smith may just have to accept it if fans gravitate toward an international player.
