{"id":629019,"date":"2026-02-27T21:36:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/629019\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T21:36:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:36:20","slug":"anthony-edwards-nikola-jokic-setting-new-trend-among-nba-superstars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/629019\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Edwards, Nikola Jokic setting new trend among NBA superstars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony Edwards had a year to reconsider his position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After making it clear that he had no interest in becoming the next face of the NBA when LeBron James<\/a> retires, Edwards was asked <\/a>earlier this month if he had changed his mind. It\u2019s a fair question for a 24-year-old whose prefrontal cortex isn\u2019t expected to be fully developed for another year or so.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Edwards doubled down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMan, those folks got (Victor) Wembanyama,\u201d Edwards said before the All-Star Game. \u201cThey got Wembanyama. They\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TimberwolvesAnthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves looks on during the game against the LA Clippers on February 26, 2026 at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Juan Ocampo\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The problem was during the league\u2019s signature event, Edwards\u2019 star shined brightest of all of the superstars, on and off the court. He oozed charm, flashed his signature smile, made a room filled with reporters laugh as he fielded questions \u2014 and then was named MVP of the All-Star Game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a surprising position for a superstar to take, one that would\u2019ve been unheard of in previous generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Can you imagine a young Michael Jordan or James<\/a> or Kobe Bryant<\/a> saying they were uninterested in becoming the face of the league? They were clamoring for the role. They stepped on people\u2019s throats for it. While they publicly chased championships, they also made it obvious that they embraced all of the ego, aura, esteem and acclaim that comes with being\u00a0the best.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It makes you wonder, is apathy the new cool in the NBA?<\/p>\n

Edwards isn\u2019t the only younger superstar who has shown a blase attitude at times. After the now-31-year-old Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets to the 2023 championship, he was asked how he felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe job is done,\u201d Jokic said in his walk-off interview with ABC. \u201cWe can go home now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, after celebrating with his teammates in the locker room, Jokic was asked if he was looking forward to the championship parade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said, putting his hand on his forehead. \u201cI need to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are famous images of Jordan, James and Bryant crying after leading their teams to the mountaintop. Jokic essentially yawned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are just 450 spots in the NBA. Only\u00a01% of high school basketball players<\/a>\u00a0go on to play the sport at the NCAA Division I level, and only 1.1% of those Division\u00a0I athletes make the NBA.<\/p>\n

Considering those stats, taking for granted anything about playing in the NBA seems like a crime. And beyond that, not savoring winning championships or wanting to become the face of the league seems unfathomable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But here we are.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sure, being the face of the league comes with an ugly underbelly. That larger-than-life superstar is under an intense magnifying glass, relentless scrutiny (on and off the court), endless pressure and unyielding criticism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just ask James, who became the face of the league shortly after being selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Cavaliers in 2003. Ever since he was 18 years old, he couldn\u2019t make a mistake. And he hasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But when asked about the ceremonial role, he made it clear pressure wasn\u2019t the toughest part of it. Rather, he pointed out that it has transformed into something different in recent years as the discourse around the game has degenerated from celebration into criticism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChanning Frye said it \u2026 why do you want to be the face of a league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis s\u2013t on everybody?\u201d James asked a year ago. \u201cWhen you have that responsibility, that\u2019s just weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NuggetsDenver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up before the game against the Boston Celtics at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Even if being the face of the league has changed, what\u2019s Jokic\u2019s\u00a0excuse for showing about as much excitement for winning a championship as a kid going back to school after summer break?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to wonder whether that\u2019s a lovable personality quirk or if it\u2019s disrespectful to the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not all of the young stars have embraced apathy. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The most prominent example of someone eschewing that trend: Wembanyama.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He\u00a0wants\u00a0to be the next face of the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, he has taken things to the extreme by insisting upon playing defense during the All-Star Game, single-handedly\u00a0rejecting the tradition of sauntering down the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But after the game, other stars such as Edwards credited him for helping inspire the most competitive game in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI ain\u2019t going to lie,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cWemby set the tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, Wembanyama, Edwards, Luka Doncic, Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are considered\u00a0next\u00a0whenever the 41-year-old James decides to retire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

All of those players are incredible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each of them pours out their heart into the game every night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s clear at least for some of them, the discourse around the game has changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What would\u2019ve been considered an anathema in years past is suddenly in vogue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An apparent lack of interest is now cool.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anthony Edwards had a year to reconsider his position.\u00a0 After making it clear that he had no interest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[375,7,160,6,253,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-629019","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-anthony-edwards","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nikola-jokic","13":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116144754435341032","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}