Why is Shai being overlooked as the "face of the league"

MrGoat · Post #61 » by **MrGoat** » Tue May 20, 2025 5:29 pm

Because he hasn't really won anything yet, and he's in OKC

There was also that awful ad he did with Chet last season that they played nonstop that didn't do him any favors

Ridicululz · Post #62 » by **Ridicululz** » Tue May 20, 2025 5:31 pm

It feels like I'm seeing him in pretty much every other ad during the playoffs :lol:

I don't think he needs to be the face of the league. He seems to like keeping to himself, and looks to be the more Tim Duncan type.

ForeverTFC · Post #63 » by **ForeverTFC** » Tue May 20, 2025 5:32 pm

He's Canadian and plays in OKC. It's very simple.

JayMKE · Post #64 » by **JayMKE** » Tue May 20, 2025 5:35 pm

I don’t think being Canadian holds him back that much, it’s more he hasn’t won anything yet and doesn’t have a flashy game or personality

Also Oklahoma City is a very small market

Lalouie · Post #65 » by **Lalouie** » Tue May 20, 2025 6:20 pm

face of the league has a lot to do with marketability

face of the league is "that guy"

for the near future it's going to be wemby particularly because the nba is focusing on global presence. he will be a good SPOKESMAN for the league

sga just doesn't have the personality for it

syrus3 · Post #66 » by **syrus3** » Tue May 20, 2025 6:23 pm

Wemby?

His own teammates don’t even pass him the ball.

Beethoven · Post #67 » by **Beethoven** » Tue May 20, 2025 6:32 pm

He has to be a transcendental player or a duo, to be the face of the league.

Wilt
Magic&Kareem/Bird
MJ
Shaq&Kobe
LeBron
steph curry(?) for a bit
Luka Doncic(?) perhaps for the future, if he gets back on track.

shai does not belong in the grouping above.

bkkrh · Post #68 » by **bkkrh** » Tue May 20, 2025 6:36 pm

maxpower8888 wrote:LeBron and Curry have gotten old, and Jokic is a foreigner who avoids the limelight and is on the wrong side of 30, so it makes sense that the league doesn't want to market him as the face. But why is Shai being overlooked for Ant? Is it simply because he's not American? You would think that the guy who's about to be MVP, finished 2nd last year, and potentially a champion would be more heavily marketed. If corny Canadian Drake could be the face of mainstream hip hop for the better part of a decade, why can't Shai be the new face of the league?

It's kinda ironic how you point out that from your perspective the first reason that Jokic can't be the face of the league is him being a foreigner and then wondering at the same time if Shai is being overlooked for being a foreigner.

hsfolk · Post #69 » by **hsfolk** » Tue May 20, 2025 6:40 pm

maxpower8888 wrote:LeBron and Curry have gotten old, and Jokic is a foreigner who avoids the limelight and is on the wrong side of 30, so it makes sense that the league doesn't want to market him as the face. But why is Shai being overlooked for Ant? Is it simply because he's not American? You would think that the guy who's about to be MVP, finished 2nd last year, and potentially a champion would be more heavily marketed. If corny Canadian Drake could be the face of mainstream hip hop for the better part of a decade, why can't Shai be the new face of the league?

you refer to Jokic as a foreigner, but so is Shai

CobraCommander · Post #70 » by **CobraCommander** » Tue May 20, 2025 6:53 pm

GeorgeSears wrote:"Jokic is a foreigner" where do you think Shai's from? He's from Canada. The face of the league naturally has to be an American born player, regardless of how good they are.

Only thing is there isn't currently an American born player that I would put in the class of Jokic, Shai, Embiid, Giannis, and Luka. Soon, that list is going to include Wemby. That's what I would call tier 1.

The tier 2 guys include Tatum, Ant, KD, Brunson.

I mostly agree with you but-
Tatum is the 4th best player in the league so he isn't tier2-
Ant just bounced Luka, Lebron, KD, Kinda Curry, Butler and Jokic in playoff series and people think he is the most talented guy in the league so he isn't tier2.
KD was the by some accounts the best player on earth and never was the face even after winning rings but he wasn't tier2-

and if Brunson gets to the finals with this Knicks team after beating a stacked Boston team, you can't really call Brunson tier2 either.

BUT NONE OF THEM HAVE POTENTIAL TO BE THE FACE OF THE LEAGUE

Tatum - great player, good looking, great pedigree from Duke, good kid, but boring as hell....just plays ball and loves his mom, his kid and Kobe
Ant- ant is actually disgusting in the most hilarious way possible. Womanizer that procreates at an ELON level with the same sense of public persona...you either love him or hate him, just like Elon and you don't want him to open his mouth share his views and market your product...just like Elon (cause half the world gonna be turned off)
KD is a a-hole- can't have an A-hole be the face of your league unless its fighting like MMA (Jone Jones and Conner) or WWE...
Brunson- just a good guy - great player- boring- Steve Nash level boring...He can ball yes...but he aint selling the league to any one but NYers and purist

I think the foreign born players are not the face of the league for these reasons-
Jokic is boring and doesn't want to be the face of the league. the league also spent the last 50+ years telling us the best athletes on earth are the NBA players. its hard to then say the face of the league with the best athletes on earth is a guy who doesn't appear to be athletic at all. its a marketing night mare.. its like black panther but if Robert downey jr played the black panther...(wait id watch that)

SGA - I love the aura and the game is beautiful but give me that SGA moment when he dunked on a guy or yelled at a dude when he buried a 3 or emoted at all over anything.... SGA Is a step above Kawhi on the boring meter. he just says the right thing (not Russell Wilson Corny) but Canadian level honesty with out the arrogance of an America - we call him the foul merchant but we actually don't have a reason to dislike him. He seems like a great guy...

Embiid is insufferable and loses in the big games, plays hurt and complains like a....I can't say it ...but y'all know....he flops during press conferences and gets hurt during warm ups.

Luka - it's going to be hard to say the face of the league has work ethic problems - the NBA is an American League and America takes pride in and respects hard work over even talent. so as long as luka has a reputation has having bad work ethic he won't be the face of the league....

btw...face of the league is over MJ, Shaq, Kobe and Lebron...those are the only faces of the league since Magic and Bird...

syrus3 · Post #71 » by **syrus3** » Tue May 20, 2025 7:02 pm

Y’all keep chasing the face of the league the same way LeSteroid chases PEDs and super teams.

The Laker Kid · Post #72 » by **The Laker Kid** » Tue May 20, 2025 7:29 pm

Because Luka's a Laker. Simple answer.

Beethoven · Post #73 » by **Beethoven** » Tue May 20, 2025 8:14 pm

bkkrh wrote:
maxpower8888 wrote:LeBron and Curry have gotten old, and Jokic is a foreigner who avoids the limelight and is on the wrong side of 30, so it makes sense that the league doesn't want to market him as the face. But why is Shai being overlooked for Ant? Is it simply because he's not American? You would think that the guy who's about to be MVP, finished 2nd last year, and potentially a champion would be more heavily marketed. If corny Canadian Drake could be the face of mainstream hip hop for the better part of a decade, why can't Shai be the new face of the league?

It's kinda ironic how you point out that from your perspective the first reason that Jokic can't be the face of the league is him being a foreigner and then wondering at the same time if Shai is being overlooked for being a foreigner.

NBA_is_cringe · Post #74 » by **NBA_is_cringe** » Tue May 20, 2025 9:08 pm

his name is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. That's a horrible name

holdenwait · Post #75 » by **holdenwait** » Tue May 20, 2025 9:19 pm

What is this stupid obsession with forcing someone as the "new face of the league" that sh..t is earned, plain and simple

Can he lead OKC to back to back champs, racking up nice stats winning finals MVps and THEN keep going at that super high level? Yeah then naturally he would be in the conversation. Sick of this era of guys getting labeled top 10 EVARRR! after 1 finals win or couple of great regular seasons.

Hoop Hunter · Post #76 » by **Hoop Hunter** » Tue May 20, 2025 10:09 pm

Why does the league need a "face of the league"? Seems dumb to me, promote all the great players, there's lots of them.

PaulKellerman · Post #77 » by **PaulKellerman** » Tue May 20, 2025 11:46 pm

Shai doesn't fit the recent mould of the recent face's of the league: Uber athletic, physical specimen (Shaq, Kobe, Lebron) or alien skill level (Curry). Iverson was a cultural icon which Shai isn't. I fully concur with the Kawhi comparison, where his popularity never really resonated with casual watchers.

Marvin Martian · Post #78 » by **Marvin Martian** » Tue May 20, 2025 11:49 pm

Hoop Hunter wrote:Why does the league need a "face of the league"? Seems dumb to me, promote all the great players, there's lots of them.

People want parity and at the same time, a player dominating the league for 10+ years lol

Ben-N1ce · Post #79 » by **Ben-N1ce** » Wed May 21, 2025 12:03 am

It's an American league. Imagine if MLB's face of the league was Japanese or something.

kdthunderup · Post #80 » by **kdthunderup** » Wed May 21, 2025 12:04 am

I think it’s mostly a cultural thing. In the US people tend to celebrate athletes who are loud and arrogant. That kind of ego is often seen as entertaining or even inspiring whilst in most other parts of the world its found to be annoying or looked down on. It’s part of why someone like Trump could become such a big figure over there but is hated worldwide and why guys like Morant or even Kyrie still have big followings.

In Australia or Canada it’s almost the opposite. We usually prefer athletes who are more humble and down to earth. Shai who just gets the job done without all the noise would probably be way more appreciated here. Players who come off as arrogant or full of themselves tend to get hammered by the media and fans, you just need to look at how people treat Kyrgios or Latrell Mitchell.