Recently, the San Antonio Spurs made headlines when big man Luke Cornette spoke out against the Atlanta Hawks’ planned Magic City Night to pay homage to a local iconic strip club. The NBA eventually intervened and canceled the promotion, with many fans speculating that Cornette’s objections may have had something to do with it.
During a recent episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash and guest Austin Reeves, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James referenced the controversy.
“We’ve got to get Luke Cornett to talk about Magic City,” James said.
Now this is how you end an episode pic.twitter.com/ESeikM1ySQ
– Jimmy Changa ✌️ (@sultanwaystar) 24 March 2026
“We’re going to slam the laptop,” Nash joked.
The Hawks still sold Magic City Wings at the arena and sweatshirts online for the event, but some game-related promotional events were canceled as a result of the NBA’s decision. Kornet was not the only NBA player to speak out against the incident, as former Hawks big man and Kornet’s former Boston Celtics teammate, Al Horford, also took to social media to sign off on Kornet’s complaints.
Based on his tone, it doesn’t seem like James was serious about inviting Kornet on the podcast to discuss this topic, which has largely been put on the back burner as the NBA season approaches its home stretch. However, for a week or so, it sparked discussion about the intersection of the NBA’s reputation as a family-friendly brand with its continued allegiance to gambling companies and other less palatable aspects of society, with some accusing the league of hypocrisy in the decision to cancel the event.
Meanwhile, the Spurs have continued to blow away opponents over the past few weeks, and appear to have locked up the number two seed in the Western Conference when all is said and done.
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