Jason Whitlock takes aim at LeBron James’ ‘face of the league’ claim, praises one star for sharing the spotlight

Jason Whitlock reacted to LeBron James' remarks about being the face of the NBA and agreeing with Anthony Edwards after he rejected the unofficial title during the 2025 All-Star weekend. James mentioned that holding that title comes with a lot of pressure, attacking analysts for the constant criticism.

During Friday's edition of his "Fearless" show, Whitlock compared James to Steph Curry, a player who became the face of the league at some point while his Golden State Warriors dominated the competition and is still liked by the majority of fans.

"Here is where I really disagree with LeBron. There's no widespread criticism of Steph Curry. Steph Curry is mostly liked, and it's not because everything Steph Curry does is perfect, because he's not, but he's mostly liked. And people kind of leave him alone. He hasn't been striking politically as LeBron, and he hasn't ring chased the way LeBron has, in terms of jumping from team to team.

Whitlock said that LeBron James tends to bring "turbulence" to teams and criticized him for avoiding the responsibility of being the face of the NBA and recalling that James has starred in several controversies over the years.

"He hasn't tried to overtake organizations the way LeBron has. LeBron fought with Dan Gilbert, LeBron fought with Pat Riley; LeBron fought with every coach he's nearly had. Steph Curry has played for one organization and I think he's had two head coaches, Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr and seemed to have gotten along with both of them really well," Whitlock said.

Former NFL champion asks LeBron James to directly mention people he went after during locker room interview

After LeBron James shared his thoughts on players refusing to take the torch as the face of the league, plenty of people wanted to know who he was referring to. Kendrick Perkins belonged to that group, as he demanded James to mention everybody by name on Friday's edition of NBA Today.

"I get what LeBron is saying, my only problem with him saying this is that, put an address on," Perkins said. "Don't just leave it broad. Say who you speaking to."

James has been subjected to criticism for refusing to participate in the Slam Dunk contest and some even blamed him for the lack of competitiveness in the All-Star Game. He's yet to respond to those claims.