3 ways Anthony Davis compares to young LeBron James

1. The brand

Each of the NBA greats leaves the league a better place than when he entered it. Jordan turned basketball payers into brands, providing a personal marketing blueprint for future athletes with Nike, Gatorade and now underwear. MJ is still marketable, pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in ad revenue this past year.

LeBron has paved a similar path through social media. He revolutionized how athletes used Snapchat and Twitter, becoming so good at the practice the NBA world takes note when he goes on his playoff hiatus.

It’s micro-marketing compared to what Jordan or other greats from previous generations did. Davis’ marketing tactic is even more micro with his brand based of a singular attribute — the unibrow.

Davis has turned his unibrow into a money maker, featuring it in advertisements, utilizing it to heighten his popularity.

It’s often the subject of his Twitter posts.

With countless forms of content, consumers are constantly bombarded by everyone’s personal product. Davis utilizes something unique to himself to stand out.

We’ve seen other players follow suit in recent years. James Harden brands his beard while the aforementioned Antetokounmpo utilizes his heritage. Even a dinosaur like Carmelo Anthony pushed his “Hoodie Melo” brand to somewhat heighten his popularity late in the career.

What I like about Davis, however, is his brand is based on an imperfection. Unibrows are often thought of something to be discarded, plucked and shaven. Davis flips the perception, using it as a positive.

Next: 2017-18 Week 24 NBA Power Rankings

In an age where kids are bullied for the smallest “inadequacy,” it’s good to see a superstar use his for good.