In a league that dominates in idolizing heroes, Anthony Edwards chose to play his natural game and step away from the face of league conversation during the All-Star weekend. “Not really. That’s what they’ve got Wemby for.” Despite this reaction, Carmelo Anthony thinks the Wolves superstar can’t remove himself from such conversations. Meanwhile, Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think a foreign player can be the face of the NBA. A former champion also chimed in but called out the ‘nostalgia merchants’ for only hyping Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, which resulted in no player accepting the responsibility.

“Nostalgia is k—— the NBA the ’90s basketball Michael Jordan and Kobe was not as clean as y’all think it was. Y’all forget that Jordan left the league for two years, y’all forget that Kobe rest in peace, quit on his team in the playoffs and did not s—– the basketball. So all this Kobe Jordan ‘Oh he’s not this, he’s not that’ that is propaganda.” Channing Frye launched a scathing rant for people not accepting the new players as the face of the league.

“It’s ridiculous it is unfair Bron (LeBron) is one of the greatest players ever to play. Stephen Curry is one of the greatest players ever to play. Giannis is one of the great, Jokic and you know we do? We talk about f——- Michael Jordan.” During the fiery rant, the former champion harped on how the current player’s contributions are not celebrated enough. He even criticized the media for constantly referring to MJ and not giving enough importance to current stars. That’s when Jamal Crawford disagreed.

Replying to the Instagram post, J-Crossover stated: “Respect your take, but disagree C Frye. Analytics, played a part in changing the game, we’re a lot of it looks the same from team to team. Especially over this last decade, and some competitive fabric left the game as well… ( short version).”

So, for Frye, it is nostalgia that results in current players staying away from the debate. Meanwhile, Crawford pointed out that the players have failed to create their own identity in the entire process. That is why fans fondly remember Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Michael Jordan’s former best friend has his say on the entire debate

When it comes to understanding the impact of the Bulls legend, then who better than someone who played during that era? In fact, not just played against, Charles Bakley was also a teammate of the 6x NBA champion with the Dream Team. They may have a falling out right now, but Chuck is upset by how the current debate of the face of the league is transpiring.

“I get so annoyed when I hear these guys. You don’t give somebody something…We’ve given them so much they don’t have no respect for the history. But you don’t give anybody the face of the game…you take it.” During the recent Inside the NBA show, the 76ers legend blasted young players for not being able to create their place.

They referred to Anthony Edwards as the next Michael Jordan, but he is not interested in the title. So who will the fans resonate with? And who will accept the responsibility for the next decade or so? Only time will tell.