LeBron James has been the face of the NBA for the past couple of decades. Of course, he’s shared the spotlight with Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and many more, but he’s always been the most marketable guy.
James’ retirement will hurt the league in many ways, and we’re not talking just about basketball. They’ll lose an icon, and they need to find someone who could fill those shoes.
And controversial as it may seem because of the so many incidents he’s been tangled up with already, Gilbert Arenas believes that Ja Morant could actually be the next in line.
Gilbert Arenas Says Ja Morant Could Be LeBron James’ Successor
“The only person who has the charisma, the style, is the one who’s getting in trouble,” Arenas said on Gil’s Arena. “It’s Ja Morant. He’s the only one with the style of play that will put people their seats. When you’re talking about who’s the face of the league, you’re talking about someone who’s airborne. Dr J., Larr Bird and Magic, then Jordan came, Kobe, LeBron. It has to be someone who can put the people in their seats. To be honest, it is Ja Morant.”
“He has the style, he has the look, it’s just that right now he doesn’t understand who he is and what is asked for him,” Gilbert added. “He might not be mentally ready to take on that challenge. Nobody has even asked him, ‘Do you wanna be the face?’ Coming into the draft, everyone was talking [about] Zion. He inherited this just by the style of his play. So the real question is asking him, ‘Do you actually wanna be the face of this league?'”
Morant needs to do plenty of soul-searching. He can either be the next face of the league and capitalize on his success, or he can throw everything away with that behavior.
