Lakers: NBA Analyst No Longer Believes LeBron James is the Face of the League

Despite his many efforts to remain among the league's best, Stephen A. Smith thinks LeBron James has been surpassed as the face of the NBA.

It's hard to look at anyone in the league and not immediately think of LeBron James as the face of the NBA. Playing in his 19th season, James is still very much at the top of his game somehow. The fact that he plays for a franchise as storied as the Lakers only adds to that. 

But not everyone is convinced. Many would argue that other names have risen to the top of the pile in terms of the face of the NBA. Names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Dame Lillard, and many more have been brought up over the years. 

But for ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith, it's absolutely not LeBron anymore. Smith spoke in-depth about why he believes it is no longer LBJ, and there are many who might actually agree with him. 

"I believe it's Steph Curry, by default almost. He's winning, and LeBron is not. That's really what this comes down to for me. ...Even though LeBron puts on his own show and deserves mad credit for that, the Lakers struggle and Steph Curry is winning. ...at this particular moment, to me, it's Steph Curry."

The Lakers are 4 games below .500 and struggling to stay in the playoff picture. Meanwhile, Steph's Warriors are 42-17 and very much one of the favorites to make an appearance in the NBA Finals this year. 

In terms of overall stats, James is well ahead of Curry in most categories. He's scoring nearly 4 points per game more than Steph and shooting at a much more efficient rate. But you can't discount the fact that the Lakers are not fun to watch at all right now. 

Who do YOU believe is the face of the NBA right now? And is it really even an important question?