No basketball player has been an inspiration for such a long time than LeBron James, but is he also the most charismatic player? NO! Not according to Bleacher Report.
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While there might be no doubt about who the most influential NBA player has been in the past decade, there has also been a lot of hatred towards the same guy since he came into the league back in 2003.
We are talking about King James. The former Cavaliers and Heat forward would definitely lose any rankings or poll by most publications and the biggest reason would be his greatness, that is compared to the likes of Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and him not being loyal to a franchise.
One would think that the most influential player on the court should also be the most charismatic. They would be wrong. A BR article back from February 2012 had him as the #2 most charismatic player in the NBA.
Now, one would also think if not the future 18x All-Star then Kobe Bryant would be the obvious #1 but they will be wrong. It was a New York Knicks player.
Jeremy Lin was NBA’s most charismatic player over LeBron James in 2012
Even I would’ve thought of Carmelo Anthony if someone gave me that hint, but he was only #10 on the list. What Lin did in February 2012 was simply insane, or should we say Linsanity? A 10-day contract holder of that very year averaged 23.9 points and 9.2 assists in 11 games starting 4th February.
He even posted up 38-points, 7-rebounds, 4-assists, and 2-steals against The Black Mamba and his Lakers. Although Linsanity didn’t last long (for multiple reasons, one of which was Melo’s jealousy), Lin had taken the world by storm and will always be remembered for that among NBA stans.
That was enough for the Harvard alumnus to leave several great players in a Bleacher Report article about the most charismatic players.
On this day in 2012, “Linsanity” became real.
Jeremy Lin dropped 38 on the Lakers in his first national TV game.
Unforgettable run.pic.twitter.com/jPatP3Raup
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 10, 2021
There are a lot more surprises in it than Lin leaving behind LeBron and Kobe. Stephen Curry was at #15 behind Derek Fisher, Jason Terry, Chris Anderson, and even Brian Scalabrine. Dirk Nowitzki was not even on the list. Understand their parameter?
Fan popularity is the reason why Kris Humphries and Metta World Peace were above the superstars like Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony.
That might be one of the craziest rankings ever because if you go by the definition of “charisma” by Cambridge English Dictionary, it is “the ability to attract the attention and admiration of others, AND TO BE SEEN AS A LEADER. Now tell us where should CP3, Howard, Bryant, and James be in that ranking.
