Draymond Green recently praised LeBron James for his excellence on the court and considerable contributions to society off it, and the Golden State Warriors veteran went so far as to suggest that the Los Angeles Lakers superstar should run for the country’s highest office at some point.
During an appearance on Tuesday’s edition of “First Take” on ESPN, Green weighed in on how James is heading up a recently launched voting rights organization called More Than A Vote. Green argued James has earned the right to be arguably the most politically and socially active player in the NBA.
“LeBron yields a lot of power, as he should,” Green said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “Arguably the greatest player of all time. His resume is flawless — on and off the court. It’s more important the things that he’s been able to accomplish off the court.
“That’s where he gets the utmost respect from me. As a competitor, I enjoy playing against him. But what he’s done off the court … hopefully he runs for President (of the United States) one day.”
Despite going head-to-head in three consecutive NBA Finals matchups when James was still playing for his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, Green and James have cultivated a collegial off-the-court friendship despite an at times fierce on-court rivalry.
The two share the same agent, and Green once praised James for opening the doors for other NBA players to develop sturdier business partnerships away from the game of basketball.
Interestingly enough, Green is not the first NBA star to express a belief that James should pursue politics following his basketball career. Onetime Lakers teammate DeMarcus Cousins similarly stated that James should aspire for the office of president of the United States one day.
Whether James actually considers running for higher office once his playing days are over of course remains to be seen.
That said, James has never shied away from weighing in on complex issues such as systemic racism and other matters related to social injustice, regardless of potential consequences. He’s even taken on Donald Trump, which inspired a strong push back from the president’s most ardent supporters.
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