Loyalty Is Dead in the NBA. Stop Pretending That Is a Bad Thing

Jaylen Brown, fresh off a trade to the 76ers, said there is no loyalty in the NBA, per Yardbarker. Days later, Steph Curry made a public pitch for LeBron James to join him in Golden State, even as a salary cap expert called what the Warriors can actually offer underwhelming.

Fans mourn this every summer. They should not.

The old deal was never loyalty

The one-team legend era was built on a system where franchises held all the leverage. Players stayed because leaving was nearly impossible, and the league sold that captivity as romance. The moment player empowerment arrived, the romance evaporated, because it was never mutual. Teams trade franchise icons without warning. Brown just lived it.

So when a player treats the league like a market, he is not betraying the game. He is finally playing it the way the owners always have.

The Wembanyama counterpoint

Victor Wembanyama just signed a five-year, 252 million dollar max rookie extension with the Spurs, per Yahoo Sports. That is the honest version of loyalty in 2026: loyalty at market rate, on the player's timeline, while the leverage is his. If San Antonio stumbles, watch how fast the narrative machinery starts drafting his exit.

Where LeBron lands

The Curry pitch is the most fascinating subplot of the summer. Two men who spent a decade trying to break each other now openly flirting with a partnership. If it happens, purists will call it the final death of competitive pride.

They will also watch every single game.