Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has been a vocal critic of how sports media has covered the NBA during his time in the league. As James is about to enter his 23rd season in the Association, he has grown to be more vocal in his opinion of how the league is covered. Moreover, on a recent episode of his Mind The Game podcast with Steve Nash, James said that the game should be more surrounded around storytelling instead of talking heads, which he believes lack a sense of accountability.
Furthermore, James continued with his critique of sports media in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter as he was promoting his new partnership with Amazon Prime for Prime Day, coming up July 8–11. When asked about the NBA moving its broadcasting rights to the streaming giant and what he’d like to see in the presentation of the league on Amazon, James was quick to note how excited he was for the talent roster Amazon has compiled so far.
“First of all, when I thought of the (analyst) lineup that they chose — legends like Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Candice Parker — [Prime Video] is going to automatically be put in a position of great things,” said James to The Hollywood Reporter. “[With them, Prime Video] has so much knowledge and [so many] people that know the game and appreciate the game and talk about the game in such a positive manner. So, I think Amazon Prime Video, they’re going to do a great job showcasing our sport; [the talent] love(s) our sport. Great intellect, great commentary, great insight — I really look forward to that.”
In addition, Steve Nash, who co-hosts the Mind The Game podcast along with James, is slated to be one of the main analysts on the network when it launches its coverage beginning this fall. Nash said on a recent episode of the podcast that because of the way the sport of basketball is covered today, it leads to conversations about ‘ring culture’ and opinions about players’ legacies being short-sighted.
“I feel like it was in the 90s it started to shift,” said Nash. “It’s part of the way we cover sports nowadays. It’s not 50/50, glorify and critique. It seems like it’s more critical than it is glorified. I’m not asking for pro athletes be glorified, but we are talking about the best in the world. We got to be careful sometimes how we can be so dismissive a team, a player, an accomplishment or a failure. These are the best in the world no matter how you slice it.”
Likewise, James continued to say that NBA media is too dismissive of great players and stories in the NBA because they never won an NBA championship.
“A ring is a team accomplishment,” noted James. “Trying to nitpick an individual because he was not able to win a team game or a team match, or whatever the case may be. I don’t know where it started. It’s a long conversation, it’s so weird.”
Most recently, James has been overly critical of sports media during this year’s NBA Finals. He questioned if those covering the Finals are doing their homework, whereas players are now being called upon to protect their fellow players, the product, and also bring awareness.
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