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As Victor Wembanyama scanned the room, he was perhaps the only person who truly believed what he was about to say.
Even though he was still recovering from a blood clot that threatened his career only months earlier, the 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs superstar had a declaration to make to the room filled with people determining how to build him into a household name.
The NBA, staring down the approaching retirements of LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant in the coming years, was in dire need of a new face, someone even the most casual fans could identify. Wemby had a solution:
“I’m not gonna give basketball a choice of who the face is going to be.”
A year later, it looks like Wembanyama may have called his shot to that group of Nike executives, an account provided by a person directly in the room. Wemby began this season trying to prove he could handle leading the Spurs to the playoffs and live up to his massive potential. Now, he’s in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, already ahead of where he’s supposed to be. Win, and he could unlock opportunities on a global scale.
Wembanyama’s ascension may seem sudden, but it’s not a shock to his team, led by the co-founders of Agence Comsport, Jeremy Medjana and Bouna Ndiaye. They have represented him since he was 13 years old and helped guide his journey with Wembanyama’s parents, Élodie de Fautereau and Félix Wembanyama. Now they have him positioned for the next — and biggest — step.
Is Victor Wembanyama the next face of the NBA? That’s hardly the question anymore. It’s whether he can become the next global superstar athlete.
Can he follow the path laid by Michael Jordan, walked by Kobe Bryant, James and Curry, and take it to the next level? Can he reach the level of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and become one of the most famous people on Earth?
His team has treated every aspect of his growth, from his body to his game to his public profile, with precision and patience. They understood how a young man with his physical gifts could be vulnerable in so many ways and wanted to slowly and methodically roll him out to the world as a nuanced public figure.
From discussions with team and league executives, Wemby’s inner circle and the man himself, this is what it looks like — and what it could mean — to build the next global superstar.
Every decision in Wemby’s World is calibrated and purposely restrained.
“The philosophy is, we don’t want him to be too distracted. We want him to stay focused, and this is why he did not sign too many deals,” Medjana said. “If you sign too many deals, then you cannot stay focused on the main goal to be better, to get rest, to get treatment.”
Before Wembanyama made the NBA, he was turning down marketing deals in the millions from beverage companies and living off his approximately $150,000 salary with his French club. Sodas, skin care, you name it. They all wanted him, but he declined.
“We’re not gonna mix his image with sodas like Coca-Cola,” Medjana said. “They all want him, but Victor will never sell soda. Because he doesn’t want to kill the kids.”
When Wembanyama approaches the podium after games and still sees the two Gatorade bottles framing the microphone, he hits the brakes. He won’t sit down until PR has snatched them away. When he took his seat before they could be removed earlier this year, he said, “Oh, hell no! Who put that there?” as he threw them under the table.
While many young basketball stars binge through endorsement deals like candy and flood their socials, Wembanyama’s camp deliberately limited his exposure as he was rising through the ranks.
In the past, that would have been able to keep him under wraps to some degree.
“In fact, in the old days, I think a player like Victor Wembanyama might not have attracted the kind of attention he (has) had until he won,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told The Athletic on Thursday. “But these days, given social media and given even the uniqueness of who he is, his background, his size, maybe even a world before social media, he still would have commanded enormous attention.”
People who have known him for years wonder if he has ever truly looked himself in the mirror and realized just how special he is. But he just sees Victor. How can he feel different when he acts in a way that is just normal to him?
“He wants to be recognized for the player,” Medjana said. “Not the size.”
It’s hard not to consider the size, though. Even NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said his first thought when he met Wembanyama was “Holy cow! He’s tall.”
“When do you see a 7-foot-4 guy making five 3s in a playoff game? Never,” NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico said. “So now, as that message gets out more and more, then I think it becomes, ‘Oh, I got to see what he’s going to do next.’ And that’s where it will start to build. So you can’t microwave global icon status, right? You’ve got to earn it and build it.”
Wembanyama and his circle understand that his physical stature is a burden to bear, even if it is a blessing. Everywhere he goes, people will always be immediately fascinated by him, whether they know him as an athlete or not. It’s why he is acutely aware of how truly strong his global reach can be.
“When you cannot walk the street, and it happened at an early age with him, we all realized what was going on because he cannot hide himself under the hoodie like (Kylian) Mbappe, for example,” Medjana said. “(For) Victor, it’s impossible.”
Early on in their marketing plans, Camp Wemby leaned into that fascination. The “alien” concept with Nike fell in their lap early, so they went with it. And while the decision to carefully and deliberately roll him out to the world as a complete public figure was in part to respect his priorities as an athlete, it also built the value of scarcity to the mystery that is Wemby.
Louis Vuitton has crafted moments around him, often as part of a broader athlete campaign that includes fellow French soccer star Kylian Mbappe and LeBron. He recently starred in a Fanatics commercial leading into the finals.
He followed in the paths of his Spurs forefathers and starred in the iconic H-E-B commercials, the Texas supermarket that has been making comedic ad spots with Spurs players for well over a decade. But he is not a ubiquitous figure in the commercial space yet.
“I think what Victor understands is not to be distracted by all of the fanfare around his career,” Silver said. ”Because he will be defined by championships, not by commercial opportunities or the platform he has to speak out on issues he cares about.”
His public appearances away from work tend to happen organically, as people have devoured every peek into his world. His goal has been to show that he is just a human trying to maximize the life with which he’s been blessed.
But living his life has become a spectacle.
He went to New York’s Washington Square Park to play some chess in December 2024, and it turned into a defining moment of his story. He didn’t do any planned public appearances in his travels to China and Japan last offseason, but social media posts capturing his presence became international news. The excitement around him built up the lore to the point that actual promotion wasn’t even necessary.
It’s showing in the ratings.
During Wembanyama’s historic performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, he was the No. 1 trending topic on X in the world, per the NBA. The game was the most searched topic on Google worldwide. These numbers are not just for sports, but for everything. It’s the clearest sign to date that Wembanyama can cross the sports fan barrier to become a household name on a global scale.
There’s one thing almost everyone agrees with — to reach that level of stardom, an athlete must do one thing above all else.
“Ultimately, for a player to take that mantle, they have to win,” Silver said. “And in the conversations I’ve had with Wemby, I’ve emphasized that, but I’m not sure I had to tell him that. The precondition to being a leader on the global stage is winning.”
Wemby has the opportunity to do just that, starting with Friday’s Game 2 against the Knicks, which could tie the series. See this thing through, and he would immediately ascend to new heights.
“The championship part of it and the sports greatness part of the legacy is what speaks to my instinct. It’s really what drives me forward,” Wembanyama told The Athletic earlier this season. “It’s the locomotive of my life and my direction.”
Medjana remembers a conversation when Wembanyama was a teenager, as a young Victor asked him what he needed to do to reach the mountaintop. His agent told him that if he wants to be the GOAT, he needs seven rings, one more than Jordan.
Now as an adult, Wembanyama has been very clear that he is on a journey to win many championships and MVPs. He understands none of his global ambitions are possible without success at the highest levels.
“Obviously, the social media, (the) NBA can promote whoever they want. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be the best players and who the people ask for,” Wembanyama said after the All-Star Game. “Being the face of the league, it’s something that can be manufactured, but only to some extent. It’s only going to be the best players. This is what it’s all about.”
Now Wembanyama has to prove that, as he takes over the world, he can still be Victor. And, of course, that he can win. He knows the league won’t hand him the title. He has to give the game no choice but to recognize his greatness.
“I agree with him wholeheartedly. We don’t anoint a face of the league,” Tatum said. “The people who become the faces of the league are the ones that do it on the court.”
But as Wemby stacks wins and the plan advances ahead of schedule, his voice and willingness to use it have grown in turn.
“He’s gonna have a bigger and bigger voice,” Medjana said.
It’s gone beyond just expressing his individuality as a hyper-competitive basketball revolution. He has taken a stand against gun violence and spoken openly about emotional vulnerability in the public spotlight. He’s become one of the NBA’s thought leaders.
“My experience with players like Michael and Magic and Kobe and LeBron, in addition to having that desire to be great, they have to be comfortable with that platform as well and they have to want it. … I think he relishes the opportunity to be one of those historical figures,” Silver said. “He is a very sophisticated person in that I think he has a sense that he can use basketball to achieve great good in society.”
There was always an expectation that his game would make him stand out. This season, his transparency stood out.
“I think fans understand authenticity. That’s what makes him such an engaging figure,” Tatum said. “They can see through things that are manufactured, but Victor speaks from the heart. He speaks his mind, and he’s very thoughtful about what he said, but he’s not afraid to say what he believes.”
Those around him could tell from an early age that he was destined for something special. His parents raised him to meet the responsibility, and he always carried a sense of purpose. Medjana isn’t certain where exactly it came from, beyond it being innate.
“When you have your goals, it’s very clear you know exactly where you want to go at his young age,” Medjana said. “I (have) never seen that before. What is crazy is I feel like Victor is working even harder than everyone, even with all the tools.”
More is riding on Wemby’s global takeover than his own star power.
Wembanyama can be the key to the NBA’s plans to challenge European basketball. Tatum’s pet project, NBA Europe, aims to build a competitor to the EuroLeague. Silver said before Game 1 of the finals that bids for franchises are due at the end of June as they aim to be operational in time for the 2027-28 season. The link to Wembanyama is a selling point to those trying to get involved.
The results have shown in the overseas ratings, particularly as his popularity in Europe took off after leading France to the Olympic gold medal game in 2024. According to Tatum, the Spurs were the fastest-growing NBA League Pass team globally during the regular season, as their viewership was up 30 percent in Europe and 40 percent in Asia. They are the top League Pass team in France, the second-ranked team in Europe and the third-ranked team globally.
Basketball has made significant strides across Europe as the NBA tries to lay claim as the second-most popular sport in the continent. With the NBA Global Games taking place in Abu Dhabi and Dubai recently, the sport has gained significant traction in the Middle East as well. There is still a significant gulf to reach the foothold soccer has in every corner of the globe.
“When you look at the commercialization of European basketball, it gets less than 1 percent of the European sports media marketplace,” Tatum said. “So there’s this gap there between the passion for the game of basketball and the commercialization of basketball. And what we want to do is close that gap.”
As Wembanyama garners worldwide attention, arriving right at Tatum and Silver’s New York doorstep in a moment that could change the sport, the NBA’s desire to expand hastens. And to resonate on a global scale, you have to lean in.
Silver points to one of Wembanyama’s predecessors in San Antonio, Tim Duncan, having no interest in doing that. “And that’s OK,” Silver said. But it limited Duncan’s stardom, which he and the Spurs embraced.
Now, the Spurs are evolving as Wembanyama takes the pulpit. The organization that owned the small-market image for years is aggressively trying to build a global brand, too, partnering with a French jersey patch sponsor, cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger.
“From (a) globalization standpoint, this isn’t just about Victor. Clearly, Victor is the head of the snake right now, but again, the way we build our team, it’s never about one individual player,” Spurs CEO RC Buford said. “And we’ve seen how that can be disruptive to a franchise. We’re focused on the growth and the promotion of the Spurs and our team, and Victor’s a big part of it.”
Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier said he wanted to partner with the Spurs in part because Wembanyama’s proximity to the brand will elevate it both in the U.S. and back home. It also comes with the perk of sitting courtside when he visits San Antonio. But he doesn’t even bother to ask to shake Victor’s hand.
“I’ve never met the guy, and I don’t care. I don’t care. I want him to work hard. I want him to do what he does,” Gauthier said. “He doesn’t need to shake my hand and go see the sponsor. I want him to do what he does right now.”
Brandon James, the franchise’s vice president of strategic growth, has led the shift over the past five years toward growing a presence in Austin. The Spurs have an annual week there when the team plays a pair of its regular-season home games, full of fan events and various activations around the city. This started before Wembanyama, but he has turned it into a spectacle in the Texas capital.
“If we were to only rely on the 210 area code, frankly speaking, we wouldn’t be afforded the resources to compete in this competitive NBA landscape,” James said. “We were thinking about it, and we said we had this global brand and we have Austin 70 miles away in our exclusive radius. If we leaned into those and put intentionality behind it, we could move from this historically small-market moniker to this global powerhouse.”
It helps that the Spurs, long led by Buford and former coach Gregg Popovich, have been building an international stronghold in San Antonio for decades. The Spurs were the franchise that first started building championship teams full of players from around the world. Now they have the most talented player to ever come to the NBA from abroad.
Wembanyama has proved to be the perfect fit, and vice versa. Now, the league is hoping the Wemby Era lasts a long while.
“I think from discussions with him, the extent that he continues on the track he’s on and whether he wins this year or in a future year, he plans on being relevant for a long time,” Silver said. “I hesitate to add to pressure on him because, like, look at LeBron. Victor takes care of himself. He can be on the floor for 20 years from now.”
Wembanyama welcomes the pressure. He’s set his goals for the moon from the very beginning, and he’s living up to the highest standard. The finals are his chance to prove he’s worthy of the hype.
Will Wemby stake his claim to a truly global recognition as he heads to New York? Some say he already has.
“When Wemby sneezes,” Brandon James said, “the world hears it.”
