ProSportsDaily.com > Basketball > NBA > Faces of the NBA....Who Got Next?
View Full Version : Faces of the NBA....Who Got Next?
When you look at great players that changed the game as far as impact on and off the court, perception, popularity and so forth in the modern basketball era ( 80's til present) I believe it goes:
Magic/ Bird
Dr J
Kobe/ Allen Iverson
Lebron / Wade/ Melo
Now whether we like these players or where we rank them isn't the point, the point is these guys have been the face of the NBA for periods of time. Simple question is who's next? KD? Kyrie? John Wall? Lillard? Who?
Keep in mind its not just about skills you have to take into account charisma and marketability....
InRoseWeTrust
KD, Anthony Davis come to mind immediately. Curry/Lillard just keep improving, so I'd guess they'd be in the discussion too.
I really don't see AD having the swag ( and I hate using that word) to be the next guy though. Everybody knows he has game but I don't know. Curry or Lillard could really do it, especially Lillard with the reputation he's building.
By the way you know that guy was about to be D Rose right? Could still be but the jury is out...
When has Melo been the face of the NBA?
lamzoka
This pretty much.
It's gonna be KD and AD
koreancabbage
AD, KD, Westbrook, Lilliard, Curry, Irving, Wall, Griffin
future: Parker, Wiggins probably
I would put Vince Carter in there too, the guy was leading the votes in the All Star contest, even playing on the Raptors.
tredigs
KD's the MVP and the cover guy of 2k15, he's already the face of the NBA with Lebron.
The other most popular of the young elite are probably Curry/Harden/AD. Westbrook and BG right there too. And Rose is still maintaining his popularity through ADIDAS.
Duncan was still a face of the NBA. Dominance supersedes swag.
Curry has 5x the AS votes as Lillard and is #1 in the conference. That gives a good idea of how the two are viewed by the average fan.
abe_froman
kd is already arguably the face of the league,though think curry or ad will be next
A-WIGGGINSs
YAALREADYKNO
Westbrook & Durant
Kd and Lebron are basically the faces of the league already so for the very near future I would say kd, then davis takes it over.
Ty_Lawson
Jusuf Nurkic...
Man I slept on Vince. T Mac is in the conversation as well.
As far as Duncan I don't think he was ever a face of the league. He's a model of consistent greatness but a couple of his Finals appearances were some of the lowest watched. Has a lot to do with their market size and his unassuming demeanor.....
Slimsim
Should have been derrick rose
valade16
Duncan was never the "face" of the NBA IMO.
Face is the first guy you think of when you think NBA, he is the most popular, arguably the best, but certainly the most popular off the court.
Kobe was always more of a face than Tim Duncan. Kobe's pop appeal is so vastly more than Duncan's.
Lillard will never be the face of the NBA because A. The face is one of the top 2-3 players in the league for at least a portion of their run and B. He doesn't play in nearly a big enough market to get the requisite endorsements.
I think of face guys like LeBron, Kobe, Jordan, etc.
PurpleLynch
Thon Maker.
Goose17
Duncan, Shaq and Vince should be there. LOL @ Melo. He's the face of failure nothing else. I would say Duncan and Shaq more than anyone else you mentioned in recent times. Other than Kobe and Lebron.
Iverson was the face for a while but it felt like a short stint. Same with Wade.
Davis, KD, Curry and maybe Butler for the future.
Jamiecballer
Durant and Davis. Melo lol.
Melo doesnt deserve to be anywhere on that list. Shaq was already face of the NBA along with MJ in the 90s and then Kobe shared it with him in the 2000s.
When it comes to being a marketable player that means you have to imagine him on billboards, commercials etc and I dont see much of that happening with the ugly mug of AD. The mono-brow thing is a complete joke that isnt going to land him any commercials which arent aiming to be humorous. I see Peyton Manning-esque commercials for his future where he is pretty much a clown. Thats about it.
The mono-brow thing is a complete joke
How is it a joke? I respect the hell out of him for not compromising into being a typical rich american pleb. Wanting to look perfect in every way. He is who he is. And regular folks will respect that, **** what the shallow rich and insecure people think. Shaq wasn't exactly the prettiest guy to look at. Neither was Patrick Ewing. Not being one of the "beautiful people" doesn't mean **** in sports. Ugly ****ers appear on billboards and TV all the time.
And most commercials are humorous now, that's what sells.
You can't see him on a billboard or magazine cover?
http://www.brokencool.com/.a/6a010536846743970c017742ce4911970d-pi
More importantly, it's a brand. One he can market. Heck, nearly every article I read about him prominently mentions "the brow".
Now he is more marketable.
Much like Harden and his beard^
Interestingly enough... I wonder if Blake Griffin could be in this conversation under the right circumstances? He had a great post season and regular season last year. He had the swagger and the highlights, he used to have "the stare" but doesn't do it now really and he's in L.A which is perfect for marketing crap. He's not having quite as good a season right now. But if he was to win a chip or two over the next 4-5 years... who knows?
If Westbrook went somewhere by himself and became the alpha I could see it working for him, in an Iverson sort of way.
.....................I know.
How is it a joke? I respect the hell out of him for not compromising into being a typical rich american pleb. Wanting to look perfect in every way. He is who he is. And regular folks will respect that, **** what the shallow rich and insecure people think.
I can respect a guy who wants to remain status-quo but choosing not to pluck off hair in between the eyes doesnt qualify in my opinion. It kind of makes him look like he's trying too hard to be clownish.
If you want to give him a massive amount of respect because of a brow then go right ahead but what would gain my respect is a persona, an attitude, a style like Iverson or even Rodman (aside from the cross-dressing).
Judging people based on eyebrows and what clothes they wear. Stay classy.
A former convict who acts like a spoiled brat gets your respect because he dresses like an extra out of the Wire. Anthony Davis however doesn't earn your respect because he doesnt pluck his eyebrows.
Here's a question... why should he pluck his eyebrows? Should he shave his pubes as well? Bleach his anus? Would you judge him if he didn't comb his hair or shave his arm pits? Why are you so obsessed about his image. His appearance isn't relevant. You don't have to look good to be the face of something. As I already explained with various examples.
GodsSon
Even before the injury Rose wasn't a top 5 player.
I am not judging him as a person, just his marketability.
LanceUpperCut
Griffin's pretty Hollywood and people love fat dunks so he would be up their. The face isn't always the best player.
JEDean89
this, dude could be better than AD. I think that we are going to see a new golden era of big men dominating the NBA once more. With guys like Cousins, Embiid, Drummond, Vucevic, Valancunas Nurkic, Monroe, Len, AD and many more young extremely talented C's already in the league, and a number of more set to enter the league over the next couple seasons, there are going to be a number of top level C's once again.
lol, please
Kobe is the face until he retires, then Durant, then maybe Davis, possibly curry.
Shammyguy3
Durant/Davis/Curry
My top-3 for the next 10 seasons as of now. Impossible to debate the rookies yet.
Raps18-19 Champ
Durant is the face of the NBA along with Lebron.
It's obviously AD and then Wiggins/Parker.
SportsFanatic10
when you say swag what do you mean? like on the court or off? if you think rose was gonna be that guy then there's no reason to think davis doesn't have the swag to be. rose could hardly even talk during interviews, not much swag there. he's shy and mostly humble, which is actually good and refreshing to me, but that definitely isn't swag is all i'm saying.
now i just used that word way more than i'd like to as well lol
MILLERHIGHLIFE
Giannis and Parker.
Bramaca
Durant is already a face of the NBA, Davis will be the next.
I agree with Giannis. He is going to be one of the best players in the league in the next few years IMO. And can be marketed very well.