Antetokounmpo and Embiid have both emerged as potential superstars in the last two seasonsnbae/getty images
The All-Star Weekend in Charlotte served as a reminder that there are "several other international candidates" besides Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo who could replace LeBron James "as the face of the NBA," according to Jerry Brewer of the WASHINGTON POST. Antetokounmpo is a "superstar with an evolving skill set," and has a "chance to enjoy his own reign as the NBA’s premier player." It "would be a face unlike any that has owned the league." A man of Nigerian descent who "grew up in Greece and didn’t live in the United States until the NBA drafted him." Then there is 76ers C Joel Embiid, who has the "personality, the competitiveness and the stated desire to carry the league." Mavericks rookie G Luka Doncic is a "polished 19-year-old Slovenian who seems like he was created to thrive in this era of positionless basketball." Brewer: "But if you’re looking for the next long-term face, it has to be a player who is young enough to wait out LeBron, pull ahead of mid-prime stars such as [Stephen] Curry, Kevin Durant and James Harden and then lead a new era for at least a half decade. So, really, we’re talking about 25 and under stars in this conversation." The "fledgling international prospects on that exclusive list excite more than their U.S.-born colleagues." If the NBA "revolved around the Greek Freak, it would be unprecedented." That is "where the game is headed, and when it happens, that player will become another powerful symbol of what’s possible in basketball" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/19).
IS GIANNIS A CUT ABOVE? ESPN's Tony Kornheiser agreed the “next face of the NBA is going to be a foreign-born player,” most likely Antetokounmpo or Doncic (“PTI,” ESPN, 2/18). ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan: “If I’m the NBA, I’m plastering Giannis’ face all over social media, on every bus, on every taxi cab, on every airplane, on every ship because he’s everything the NBA should want right now. A young superstar who exudes enthusiasm, who loves the small market." MacMullan: "He’s everything the NBA should be promoting” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 2/18).
NOT QUITE TIME YET: BLEACHER REPORT's Ken Berger notes All-Star Weekend will be remembered for several things, but a "sea-change moment in which a new generation appears poised to supplant the old won't be one of them." There have been "seminal All-Star moments when the old guard appeared poised to cede control to the new," but this year was not one of them. Performances in Sunday's All-Star Game by LeBron James and Kevin Durant show it is "not time to answer" the question of who's next just yet (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 2/19).
