Carmelo Anthony Makes Surprising Pick For Who Next Face of NBA Will Be

Valentina Martinez | Dec 30, 2024

Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Former NBA forward Carmelo Anthony and his son Kyian Anthony during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

As the faces of the NBA such as LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant are inching closer to retirement, fans are wondering who the next rising stars will be.

Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony has an answer. On 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, the retired NBA player shared who he thinks the next face of the NBA will be--Memphis Grizzlies Ja Morant.

"You got to perform first, and everything will come after it," Anthony said of the Grizzlies guard. "But he's actually in a really good space right now. Because of the [Minnesota Timberwolves guard] Ant [Anthony Edwards] conversations … Ja is just waiting in the weeds. Waiting for that break. And when Ja get that moment, he ain't giving it back."

It was recently reported that NBA viewership is declining and has many people wondering why that is the case. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James shared his opinion on the decline in viewership.

"Listen, it's a bigger conversation. It's not just the All-Star Game, it's our game in general. Our game, there's a lot of f---ing threes being shot. So it's a bigger conversation than just the All-Star Game," James said.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn't think the decline in viewership is due to a lack of interest in players and the league.

“If you look at other data points, in terms of our business, for example, we’ve just come off the last two years of the highest attendance in the history of this league,” Silver said. “We’re at a point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league and continuing to grow exponentially. So, it’s not a lack of interest in this game.”

“We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are in traditional television,” Silver said. “And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which will enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service. And as we move to streaming service, putting aside how the actual game is played on the floor, it’s going to allow us from a production standpoint to do all kinds of things that you can’t do through traditional television. All kinds of new functionality, all kinds of new options and screens that are available."

Though lack of interest may not be the NBA's problem, there is still a sense of uncertainty regarding the league's next generation of stars.

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