Lebron, KD, and Steph will all be gone before long. Who takes those spots?

[Kblaze8855]

The talked about guys.

Jokic, Giannis, and Luka will still be around. But I don’t know if they have the popularity to step into those shoes and be content for the media and places like this.

Morant has both the style and the willingness to make a spectacle of himself but I’m not sure who else.


Who are the “Can we PLEASE talk about someone else?” guys coming up?


Is SGA that type of person if he starts winning?

Who we gonna be drowning in the coverage of?

[SouBeachTalents]

Foreign players are simply never gonna get the coverage that Americans do, so no matter how great they are or high up they move on the all time list, the current crop of BITW candidates will never captivate the attention of the casual fan like their American counterparts would. Once those 3 are gone, I have a hard time seeing the players that will take their place. My best bets would be on Tatum & Morant, with guys like Trae, Mitchell & Booker being in the mix.

My honest opinion, you ask the average sports fan I bet a lot of them would have never even heard of SGA, and definitely never seen him play, so he'd have a while to go to reach that convo.

[HylianNightmare]

Victor

[Real Men Wear Green]

Wembanyama Williamson and Doncic. Williamson will have to show some major improvement to reach this level but I think he will.

[StrongLurk]

The NBA will fall off a cliff once Lebron retires. Same thing with Curry/KD.

The next best players aren't Americans, plus people are already sick of the extremely offensive focused state of the current NBA.

IDK, I sure as hell barely watch the NBA anymore until the playoffs...and even then it's just a few games here and there.

The NBA needs an athletic, exciting, black American GOAT candidate...and I don't see one in the pipeline.

[Xiao Yao You]

The NBA will fall off a cliff once Lebron retires. Same thing with Curry/KD.

The next best players aren't Americans, plus people are already sick of the extremely offensive focused state of the current NBA.

IDK, I sure as hell barely watch the NBA anymore until the playoffs...and even then it's just a few games here and there.

The NBA needs an athletic, exciting, black American GOAT candidate...and I don't see one in the pipeline.

The NBA was supposedly going to be done with when MJ retired too :lol

[Phoenix]

Honestly, right now it doesn't feel like there's a 'next guy' in that sense currently playing. Lebron and Kobe were like the last two polarizing figures with crazed, draw a line in the sand fanbases. The league is in a tough spot where guys like Giannis and Luka may not have the overall appeal to the general American public, but they may be helpful with further broadening the league's international appeal.

[Phoenix]

The NBA was supposedly going to be done with when MJ retired too :lol

Somebody ends up emerging, but the difference with MJ is guys like Kobe and A.I came into the league while he was still playing and established themselves from a mass market appeal POV, then you had Shaq coming into his peak and so forth. Vince was up in Toronto briefly considered an air apparent, and so forth. Flash forward a decade and then Lebron comes in and you have him and Kobe carry the torch, with Curry carrying his share from 2015 onwards. You need guys in the league that people either root for or against really hard, and * right now* the next wave of guys aren't at that barber shop debate level yet. Morant has the flashy mass market game but he's pre-injury Derrick Rose right now( not saying that's a bad thing, but Rose was never going to carry the league evenif he stayed healthy). Ditto for Zion....

[FultzNationRISE]

I’m not sure Durant was ever really “pop culture” relevant like Lebron (overtook MJ in Space Jam and the face of numerous brands) or Steph (won a kids choice award). I think those are the only two that are very familiar to people outside of basketball. Durant is highly regarded among bball fans but I dont think his face is super recognizable to casuals around the world.

Much depends on who makes the finals and gets that exposure. Lebron and Steph both made a ton of them. In terms of playstyle appeal, Luka is the obvious candidate. If Zion becomes more extroverted he could be up there. I dont really see Tatum or Brown being the guys all the kids wanna emulate, even tho they may well end up having the most success. Jokic and Embiid are bigs, so unlikely to be ubiquitous icons. Giannis… I dunno. If he can make and repeat his previous finals performance, maybe. But his game is not very graceful which factors in marketing.

If team success didnt matter it would be Luka and Zion if they stay healthy. But if they dont play in any finals theyll be on a lot fewer casuals’ radars.

[Wally450]

Jayson Tatum will reach KD levels, minus the thin skin and team hopping.

[Axe]

Tbh kawhi leonard could have been one of those players currently taking a spot rn if only he was less susceptible to injuries but reality ain't so kind to him it seems.

[WhiteKyrie]

The NBA needs an athletic, exciting, black American GOAT candidate...and I don't see one in the pipeline.
Why black? Just curious. Because if Luka was American, he would be the most promoted thing since LeBron, Michael, Bird and Magic. No doubt about it.