In all fairness - James needs to re-brand himself for his own marketability (ultimately impacting the deals he's getting and his own pocket). In terms of basketball, i don't think he needs to change that much. Tim Duncan was never a vocal guy but he's won multiple championships and is highly respected. I can live with that
Do your friends know that Harden has a $200,000,000 contract with Adidas? I don't think he needs PR advice. What's your endgame here? Votes or Wins? Or are you mainly concerned -- as fans like @durvasa are -- that your enjoyment of the game is tainted by other fans perception of your favorite team and player? So, selfish interests? With a $200m endorsement contract, I don't think Harden is worried about PR.
Ultimately it’s not about one persons brand being better than another’s. Lebron is arguably the greatest to ever play the game, is well spoken, thoughtful, and ultimately one of the top “winners” of all time - yet when Steph came on the scene it was Steph Curry leading merch sales by a mile and this is when he was just starting. Ask yourself why that could be? Personally I believe it is because Americans are racist and don’t want be reminded of the harshest realities of what that racism has done to our society. The league as a whole has been whitewashed starting in the Stern era with the league wide dress code. It is my belief that the media and the league implicitly play a part in devaluing the culture of urban African Americans - it’s why Luka is more popular than Harden despite being a paler imitation, it’s why Curry(didn’t really grow up in the streets - basically grew up with white dudes in the suburbs) can be half the player of Lebron and yet still wildly more popular, it’s why the players vote(majority black) differs from the media vote(majority white) so drastically. Harden is just who he is - he doesn’t try to whitewash anything and in this league there is a penalty for that but no one wants to talk about it because it’s not the type of racism that is deliberate/intentional...it’s just what happens when the league image they try to reinforce came from a deliberate attempt to appeal to white upper middle class people.
dumb thread People hate Harden because he's SKILLZED. Everything he does is SKILLZ He improves his offensive game every year by studying the rule and taking full advantage of it. The man is a genius...offensively
It's not a narrative, it's the truth, look up his past hot takes regarding Harden, Morey, MDA and the Rockets last 5 years.
to be frank, I didn't know much about Gottlieb and his beef with us until you spoke out. also I seldom paid much attention to Colin Cowherd's program (cuz he admitting he didn't even watch b-ball games). We do know those superstars MJ/KB/LBJ/Kwaii playing hustling D (easily locking down opp's best player) while score at will offensively. only when I saw that video, I got to understand they (at least some players in this league) set such a bar for the beard or players at his level. believe it or not, that's it.
interesting thought I think people like and can relate to steph as he is not a giant but has a cool style of shooting crazy 3s, is a family man, a underdog (went to Davidson) and a winner I am not sure if race has anythign to do with it. Most of the league is African American
Once we get to the finals we can troll the media all day long for days to come. Don't let none of these haters make it either.
He just needs to bring his nutz to the basketball court during every playoff game this year. Every superstar in his situation had to.
Who fking cares about image? All i care about is how the refs view him. If they gobble the nasty sht like u, harden is gonna have a shtty time during playoffs.
He’s a top 5 player in the NBA. He’s an MVP. Leads the league in scoring (again). People are always talking about his game on TV. I’m not a “brand” expert, but I’d think these are all good things. And what’s with the accusation of spending tens of millions on hookers? And not articulate? Sounds like you have an agenda...
I respect him and Westbrook for being themselves unlike the fake manufactured BS other stars try to pull to seem more likable or worse “relatable” . To be that takes courage and confidence. Believe in yourself and the insignificant ants hating on you has no impact to your well being. Houston got the 2 realist stars, **** all the other b**** ass stars on the other teams. They all got issues of some kind despite being talented ball players. We got OKCs strongest and best. Let that other little b**** go to SF and New York.
We’re lucky to have harden and Westbrook as the stars. **** what anyone else thinks. These guys are real MEN with none of the b**** problems most stars and deluded role players these days have Look at other soft ass stars with issues in the league- KD - overly sensitive to the point of creating fake accounts to fight trolls online. Still unhappy after winning 2 kyrie- oversensitive and overrated for playing a “pretty” brand of basketball. Dumb as a rock and locker room cancer Giannis- bullies the easy target to make a name for self, p***y for not owning up to it. Fake humble company man. Try hard at all star game. Would sell out anyone to look good for the media Kawhi- lazy bum who only wins when teammates carry him in finals. Biggest diva in the league despite trying to appear “humble and quiet”. Lebron- prima Donna, attention w**** etc steph curry- soft ballerina figure. Fakes injury to avoid getting exposed
