LeBron James‘ former teammate Kendrick Perkins challenged him to name drop who he was referring to in his controversial comment about the “weird energy” from the media, which could be the reason why younger stars like Anthony Edwards don’t want to take on the responsibility.
“Ant already said he doesn’t want it. He ain’t trying to deal with that [expletive],” James told reporters after his Los Angeles Lakers beat Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves 111-102 on Thursday, Feb. 27. “I mean, Channing Frye said it the other day, too. Like, I mean, it’s unfortunate, but, like, why do you want to be the face of a league when all the all to put all the people that you know that cover our game and talk about our game on a day to day basis shit on everybody?
“To have that responsibility, it’s just weird. It’s weird energy. Channing, he said it perfectly. [He] Couldn’t said it no better, but Ant said he don’t want it. I didn’t ask for it, but I knew there was a responsibility for me, not only to my family, my friends, my community and whoever that was going to follow my journey throughout my career, not only in Ohio, but I started there, but all over America and all over world.
“I’ve always taken that seriously and understood from the beginning what being a professional was all about and being a role model is all about. So try to hold that with the utmost respect and honor, but I feel Ant. I understand, I completely understand this weird energy when it comes to this.”
Kendrick Perkins Issues Challenge to LeBron
Perkins argued that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who James succeeded as face of the NBA, also had their warts and faced criticisms from the media.
“Michael Jordan went through it when he was dealing with the death of his daddy,” Perkins said on “NBA Today” on Friday, Feb. 28. “Did you see all the newspaper articles that were out about him, the gambling stories when he was playing against the New York Knicks? We didn’t have social media, but he went through it. Kobe Bryant had his share at times and he went through it.
“I get what LeBron is saying. My only problem with LeBron saying this is that put [names on it], address [the people you’re referring to]. Don’t just leave it broad. Say who you’re speaking to because it can’t be us because we highlight him every single day even when he’s not playing. We make sure we appreciate his greatness every single day.”
Perkins and James were teammates at the AAU circuit, then teamed up in the NBA with James’ hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015.
Anthony Edwards Don’t Want To Be the ‘Face of the NBA’
The whole debate was sparked by Edwards, who made headlines during the NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco when he said he doesn’t want to be the face of the NBA.
“Not really,” Edwards said during his media availability. “That’s what they got Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) for.”
Edwards doubled down on this when he joined the NBA TV panel later that weekend.
“Well, I’m capable of being that guy,” he told the NBA TV crew. “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.”
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