There is an absurd amount of pressure on the best players in sports leagues to maintain their high level of play. Once someone sets a high standard for themselves, fans are quick to hold them to it and chastise them at the first sign of a drop off. 

Being the face of a sport is every young athlete’s dream, but they don’t often think about everything that comes with the responsibility. Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards is a rising star in the league. He has established himself as the face of the Minnesota franchise but is a fan favorite and is on the cusp of being the face of the NBA as a whole 

Unfortunately, Edwards doesn’t seem too keen on the idea. He’s reluctant to accept the mantle of being the face of the NBA and veteran star LeBron James sympathized. Here is what he said about Edwards not wanting to be the face of the NBA. 

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Why LeBron James ‘completely understands’ Anthony Edwards’ take on being the face of the NBA

James was drafted out of high school with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. He was a generational talent and has lived up to the hype and exceeded it over the last 22 years. James is considered the greatest of all time (GOAT) with four NBA championships and four MVP Awards. 

James has been the face of the league since his first stint with Cleveland. It continued with one of the only televised free agency decisions in recent memory with “The Decision” as James decided to “take his talents to South Beach.” He knows all about the pressures that come with being the best, and the biggest is likely the critics both in fans and the media. 

LeBron on Anthony Edwards’ statement at All-Star that he isn’t striving to become the face of the NBA: “Channing Frye said it … ‘Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s— on everybody?’” pic.twitter.com/dNHHrzWRiT

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 28, 2025

James talks about the “weird energy” that comes from critics. He acknowledges that he didn’t ask to be the face of the league but then said that he realized when it was happening that he owed it to his family and friends to take it seriously. James ends his response by saying that he understands where Edwards is coming from and again reiterates that there is a weird energy that goes to the person who is the face of the league. 

The morning after James made his comments, ESPN NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith took exception to what was said. Smith took it personally that James agreed on Frye’s comments about those that cover the NBA being too critical of the players. 

“There’s a narrative that goes around these days…where if you’re a brother and you’re talking about brothers, ‘Oh, you’re just hating on brothers.’ It’s like Black on Black crime.” – Stephen A. Smith fires back at LeBron James’ NBA media criticism pic.twitter.com/zwzdPC2F62

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 28, 2025

“When he talks about people covering the league, we know he’s talking about me…and he’s not just talking about people like me, he talked about Inside the NBA” pic.twitter.com/xkrSoR2XcW

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 28, 2025

What did Anthony Edwards say about being the face of the NBA?

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst talked on a recent episode of Gruber Law’s Thanalysis show hosted by Thanasis Antetokounmpo about what is wrong with how basketball is covered. 

“NBA media ‘not in a great place’ because ‘we’re devaluing things that help build the league up’. People too focused on tweets, too focused on guys getting crossed-over, guys getting dunked on, guys getting embarrassed, social media posts. Not as much on storytelling, learning about players & learning their backgrounds, what I call chronicling the season.”

Edwards was asked about becoming the face of the NBA someday. Initially he responded saying he doesn’t consider himself the face because, “that’s what they’ve got Wemby for.” He later said that he is certainly capable of being that guy. Edwards added, “But I don’t want to be that guy, put it like that. I want to be the guy to just show up and hoop and just kill dudes and go home.”

Edwards is 23 years old. He is reaching his prime in the league and should be able to put on a show for the foreseeable future. There is no reason to put unreal expectations on him, and it sounds like Edwards just wants fans to enjoy the show without fear of the critiques that he has fallen short of the lofty expectations he didn’t ask for that come with being the face of the NBA. 

Anthony Edwards career stats

• 360 games
• 8,486 points
• 1,502 assists
• 1,909 rebounds
• 44.4% FG%
• 40.6% 3FG%