Recently, the San Antonio Spurs made headlines when big man Luke Kornet spoke out against the Atlanta Hawks' planned Magic City Night, in tribute to a local iconic strip club. The NBA ended up stepping in and canceling the promotion, with many fans speculating that Kornet's reservations may have had something to do with it.
During a recent episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast with Steve Nash and guest Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James made reference to the controversy.
“We've got to get Luke Kornet next to talk about Magic City,” said James.
Now that’s how you end an episode pic.twitter.com/ESeikM1ySQ
— jimmy changa ✌️ (@sultanwaystar) March 24, 2026
“We'll slam the laptop,” joked Nash.
The Hawks ended up still selling Magic City wings at the arena and sweatshirts for the event online, but some promotional events related to the game were canceled as a result of the NBA's decision. Kornet wasn't the only NBA player to speak out against the event, as former Hawks big man, and Kornet's former Boston Celtics teammate, Al Horford also took to social media to cosign Kornet's complaints.
Based on his tone, it doesn't appear that James was serious about inviting Kornet onto the podcast in order to discuss the topic, which has largely been moved to the backburner as the NBA season reaches its home stretch. However, for a week or so, it opened up a discourse about the intersection of the NBA's reputation as a family-friendly brand with its continued allegiances to gambling companies and other less savory aspects of society, with some accusing the league of hypocrisy in its decision to cancel the event.
Meanwhile, the Spurs have continued obliterating opponents over the last few weeks, and appear destined to lock up the number two seed in the Western Conference when all is said and done.


















