ESPN really have to get their stories straight. For most of the last 2-3 seasons, they’ve been going on about Anthony Edwards being the new face of the league. And why wouldn’t they? The man’s consistently been averaging 70+ games a season, with a 23.9/5.3/4.2 statline to go with it. Is his off-court life something to look up to? Not necessarily. But for Kendrick Perkins, that’s the tell-all factor that differentiates him from the rest, for the worse. Suddenly, the people pushing for him to be the face of the league have found sketchy reasons not to anymore.

So he’s pretty much cleared that up for us. But of course, the media need someone to stick their pins on, right? Ant’s electrifying playstyle and non-chalant off-court demeanor has gotten him comparisons to Michael Jordan, Dwayne Wade, and even his role model, Kevin Durant. But he lacks something they didn’t when they were the role models. And that’s the fact that they have a clean image off the court.

“You got to be a role model. And things outside the lines matter. Now, if you go down the list of all the faces of the league in the history of the game, you look at Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, LeBron, Steph. What did they all have in common? While they was playing in the league, they all were family men. They all were married with kids. And if you think that don’t play a role in force, the role model, this is facts,” said KP on First Take.

As ridiculous as it sounds, KP isn’t speaking utter nonsense. When you’re the face, kids look up to you with a glimmer in their eyes. And the way Anthony Edwards‘ life has been going off the hardwood, it’s not something anyone would wanna replicate.

But then came, Ant’s biggest supporter- Stephen A. Smith. SAS has been on Edwards’ side for years now, with the veteran ESPN analyst being at the forefront of the agenda vowing for the Timberwolves star to be the future face. And he came swooping in, putting a hold on KP’s wild comments.

Stephen A. Smith comes to Anthony Edwards’ aid after Perkins’ attack

SAS- ever the respectful journalist- understands where KP is coming from. “I get where you’re coming from and I understand that. When you talk about being the face of the league, it’s not just about your game on the court. It’s about what you do off the court.” But it gets interesting when we get to the crux of what he said. According to Smith, Ant should only be crowned the face of the NBA due to his skills on the court.

“But when we were talking about crown and Ant-Man, we were just talking basketball. We weren’t getting into all of that. We were looking at his skillset. I understand what you mean about the face of the league. You’re not wrong in terms of what comes with being the face of the league. But when we were talking about Ant-Man, we were talking about his game on the court. We weren’t getting into anything else,” said SAS on First Take.

To be honest, this debate will go on for long after LeBron James and Stephen Curry’s retirements. While the ex-NBA star is right about off-court imagery being pertinent, Stephen A. Smith put Perkins’ comments in the bin after his own thoughts on the matter. Do you think off-court lives play a hand in being the face of the NBA?