"He's more impactful than Kobe" - Cam Newton justifies LeBron James' last-minute All-Star Game pullout

Former NFL star Cam Newton didn't see a problem with LeBron James removing himself from the 2025 All-Star Game shortly before the event. The LA Lakers superstar cited a foot injury as the reason he couldn't take the court with Team Shaq, raising plenty of eyebrows around the NBA.

During Thursday's episode of his "4th&1" show, Newton said James' impact was enough to let other players know they would play if the four-time NBA champion wasn't 100% healthy.

"He's f***ing LeBron James. He's the f***ing leading scorer in NBA history. The most impactful basketball player of our generation. If you don't like that, go argue with your mom," Newton said.

When his co-host brought Kobe Bryant into the conversation, the former NFL MVP had a clear response.

"He's more impactful than Kobe, bro. Respectfully. Better? That's a different argument. Impactful? (LeBron is)," Newton said. (24:30 onward)

The LeBron James-Kobe Bryant debate has been ongoing for years, but Newton is convinced the four-time NBA MVP made a bigger impact than Bryant, one of the league’s biggest stars in the last 20 years.

Cam Newton proposes tournament to save All-Star weekend

Cam Newton also discussed what he would do to fix the All-Star Game immediately after sharing his thoughts on the LeBron James-Kobe Bryant comparison.

He suggested the league create a 1-on-1 tournament between the players selected for the All-Star Game.

"To fix all this s**t, to wrap this s**t up like a f***ing mummy, 1-on-1 that s**t. Get everybody that made the All-Star team. ... You got 10 All-Stars in each side and you go 1-on-1... The first person to get to 21 or 30, f***ing wins," he said.

"And I guarantee you, those numbers are gonna go up. And the winner gets a philantropic injection from one of the partners of that league."

The NBA has several questions to answer regarding how to increase TV ratings not only for All-Star Weekend but for regular-season games as well. After another failed experiment this year, it remains to be seen what’s next for the league.