While Drake, 30, was pretty funny when he hosted the inaugural NBA Awards, for the second edition of the annual awards show, the league left the comedy to a professional. Anthony Anderson, 47, opened up the June 25 broadcast by first mocking LeBron James, 33, without saying a word. He walked out on stage in a suit and shorts, rocking the same outfit that King James wore during the NBA Finals. Speaking of which, Anthony’s best line came when he pondered what J.R. Smith, 32, was thinking when he pulled his infamous time-management error during Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.
“Maybe he was worried about what everyone else was worried about: where will LeBron James go?” Anthony asked as a picture of King James appeared behind him. “I think we all have a clue. LeBron’s beard says ‘take me to Philly,’ but his hair says, ‘take us to the Clippers.’ ” Oooh — dayumn! LeBron’s hairline has been a target of many a jokester for years. Drake even remarked about it last year when he was host. “LeBron James recently went bald and social media went — Oh sorry, this is a joke from 2007,” Drake commented, just showing how long people have been poking ‘Bron over his not-so-there hair.
While comedy is more Anthony’s bread and butter, Drake wasn’t a slouch when it came to the laughs during the 2017 ceremony. The very first NBA awards kicked off with a “handshake workshop” featuring Drake and Will Ferrell. Very funny. The real laughs came when Drake addressed the room of NBA players, as he fired off jokes as if he were shooting downtown for three. “Draymond Green stopped kicking people in the groin and moved onto something much worse, his own podcast.” “LeBron James recently went bald and social media went — Oh sorry, this is a joke from 2007.” “Rookie Markelle Fultz says he almost signed with Big Baller Brand before he eventually signed with Nike. When asked what changed his mind, Fultz said, ‘I went to college.’ ”
Apparently Anthony Anderson and LeBron have the same stylist pic.twitter.com/vhSZhSQ1wn
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/Asap_juju55/status/1011417027519475712
Overall, Anthony’s opening was rather quaint and friendly compared to Drake’s. Perhaps he decided to take it easy tonight? Anthony and the rest of the Black-ish cast just wrapped up their fourth season, but he doesn’t have time to take a vacation. He’s been cast in the new Netlfix movie Beats, a “coming-of-age drama” set in Chicago’s South Side hip-hop scene, according to Deadline. Khalil Everage, 17, will play a “musical prodigy with borderline agoraphobia,” who meets up with a former music manager (Anderson) who has fallen from grace. The two will then come together to “free each other from the demons of their pasts.” Directed by Chris Robinson and also featuring Uzo Aduba, Beats is scheduled for a 2019 release.