"He chose to wear 23" - NBA insider claims LeBron James aimed to be NBA’s face since landing $90 million Nike deal

This week, LeBron James was asked about Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards' comments about becoming the face of the NBA one day during All-Star weekend. The way James sees things, why would Edwards want to be the face of the league one day when the people who cover the NBA and talk about the NBA are overly critical?

Those comments caught the attention of longtime NBA insider Brian Windhorst, who weighed in on Friday morning's episode of "First Take." Per the ESPN analyst, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

While LeBron James may be unfairly criticized and held to a higher standard, Windhorst believes he also welcomes some of the spotlight with his career choices. For example, Windhorst pointed to the fact that James wore No. 23 coming into the league and again in LA.

"LeBron can both say that, 'I am held to an unfair standard.' And yet he chose to wear No. 23," Windhorst said. "He also said, 'I never asked to be the face of the league.' Of course he asked to be the face of the league.

"He signed a $90 million Nike contract, which he could have signed with Reebok for more money, by the way, but he signed with Nike. Why? Because of Jordan. So, yes, it is unfair at times to hold him to that standard ... But he also has invited it."

Carmelo Anthony shares unique perspective on Anthony Edwards being the face of the league, similar to the one Brian Windhorst shared regarding LeBron James

Before Brian Windhorst weighed in on LeBron James' comments about being the face of the league, saying that players like James can't have their cake and eat it too, Carmelo Anthony made similar comments about Anthony Edwards.

Following the NBA's All-Star weekend, where Edwards said that he just wants to focus on playing basketball and not everything that comes with being the face of the league, Anthony weighed in on his "7PM in Brooklyn" show.

The way he sees things, Edwards can't say that he doesn't want to be the face of the league while also appearing in commercials:

"You can’t say I don’t want this, and then get Adidas, Sprite, this commercial, you can’t reject it. You got to pick a side. Either you just play ball, and you do what you do. This is what comes with being a superstar."

While Edwards brushed off the idea of being the face of the league and said that the NBA has Victor Wembanyama for that, the fact of the matter is there's enough space at the top for more than one star.

If the past 15 years of NBA action with LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant have taught us anything, it's that the league needs all the superstars they can get.