By Jared Weiss | The Athletic, 2026-06-05 09:15:43
当维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 环视房间时，他或许是唯一一个真正相信自己接下来要说的话的人。
尽管几个月前他还在从险些终结其职业生涯的血栓伤病中恢复，但这位身高7英尺4英寸（约2.24米）的圣安东尼奥马刺超级巨星，依然向满屋子正谋划如何将他打造成家喻户晓球星的人们做出了宣言。
面对未来几年勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James)、斯蒂芬·库里 (Steph Curry) 和凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 即将退役的现实，NBA急需一张新面孔，一个连最不常看球的粉丝也能一眼认出的人物。文班给出了他的解决方案：
“我不会给篮球世界选择谁来当门面的机会。”
一年后的今天，文班亚马似乎已经对那群耐克高管兑现了他的预言——这一细节由当时在场的知情人士透露。文班在本赛季开始时，还只是试图证明自己能够带领马刺重返季后赛，并兑现他巨大的潜力。而现在，他已经站在了NBA总决赛的舞台上，对手是纽约尼克斯，这已经远远超出了人们对他成长速度的预期。如果夺冠，他将在全球范围内解锁无限的机遇。
文班亚马的崛起看似突然，但对于他的团队来说并不意外。该团队由Agence Comsport的联合创始人杰里米·梅贾纳 (Jeremy Medjana) 和布纳·恩迪亚耶 (Bouna Ndiaye) 领衔。自文班亚马13岁起，他们就担任其经纪人，并与文班亚马的父母埃洛迪·德·福特罗 (Élodie de Fautereau) 和菲利克斯·文班亚马 (Félix Wembanyama) 共同指引着他的成长之路。如今，他们已经为他规划好了下一步——也是最重要的一步。
维克托·文班亚马会是NBA的下一个门面吗？这几乎已经不再是个问题。真正的悬念在于，他能否成为下一个全球顶级的超级巨星运动员。
他能否沿着迈克尔·乔丹 (Michael Jordan) 铺就、科比·布莱恩特 (Kobe Bryant)、詹姆斯和库里走过的道路，并将其提升到新的高度？他能否达到里奥·梅西 (Lionel Messi) 和克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多 (Cristiano Ronaldo) 的高度，成为地球上最著名的人之一？
他的团队以极高的精准度和耐心对待他成长的方方面面，从他的身体、赛场表现到公众形象。他们深知一个拥有如此身体天赋的年轻人可能在很多方面都显得脆弱，因此希望缓慢而有条不紊地将他推向世界，塑造成一个富有内涵的公众人物。
通过与球队及联盟高管、文班的亲信圈子以及他本人的交流，我们得以一窥打造下一个全球超级巨星的蓝图——以及这背后所代表的意义。
在“文班的世界”里，每一个决定都经过了精确的考量和刻意的克制。
“我们的理念是，不希望他分心太多。我们希望他保持专注，这就是他没有签太多代言合同的原因，”梅贾纳说。“如果你签了太多合同，你就无法专注于核心目标——变得更好、获得休息和接受治疗。”
在文班亚马进入NBA之前，他就拒绝了饮料公司数百万美元的营销合同，仅靠在法国俱乐部约15万美元的薪水生活。汽水、护肤品，凡是你能想到的品类，他们都想签下他，但他都拒绝了。
“我们不会把他的形象与可口可乐这样的汽水联系在一起，”梅贾纳说。“他们都想要他，但维克托永远不会代言汽水。因为他不想危害孩子们的健康。”
赛后当文班亚马走向新闻发布会讲台，看到麦克风两旁放着两瓶佳得乐时，他会立刻停下脚步。在公关人员把它们拿走之前，他绝不坐下。今年早些时候，在它们被拿走之前他就坐下了，他一边把瓶子扔到桌子底下，一边说：“哦，见鬼，不！谁把这玩意儿放这儿的？”
当许多年轻的篮球明星像吃糖果一样疯狂接代言、刷爆社交媒体时，文班亚马的阵营在他崭露头角的过程中，却在刻意限制他的曝光度。
在过去，这种做法在某种程度上还能让他保持神秘感。
“事实上，在过去，我认为像维克托·文班亚马这样的球员在夺冠之前，可能不会吸引到他现在所获得的这种关注，”NBA总裁亚当·肖华 (Adam Silver) 周四告诉The Athletic。“但如今，考虑到社交媒体，以及他独特的个人特质、背景和身高，哪怕是在社交媒体诞生之前的世界，他依然会引起极大的关注。”
认识他多年的人都在想，他是否曾真正照过镜子，意识到自己有多么特别。但他眼中只有“维克托”。当他只是以对自己而言再正常不过的方式行事时，他又怎么会觉得自己与众不同呢？
“他希望人们因为他的球技而认可他，”梅贾纳说。“而不是因为他的身高。”
不过，不考虑身高确实很难。就连NBA副总裁马克·塔图姆 (Mark Tatum) 也表示，他第一次见到文班亚马时的第一反应是：“天呐！他可真高。”
“你什么时候见过一个7英尺4英寸的家伙在季后赛中投进5个三分球？从来没有，”NBC解说员迈克·蒂里科 (Mike Tirico) 说道。“所以现在，随着这种信息传播得越来越广，我认为人们会变成，‘哦，我得看看他下一步会做什么。’这就是影响力开始积累的过程。所以你无法速成一个全球偶像，对吧？你必须去赢得它、建立它。”
文班亚马和他的圈子明白，他的身材既是恩赐，也是一种负担。无论他走到哪里，人们总会立刻被他吸引，无论他们是否知道他是一名运动员。这就是为什么他敏锐地意识到自己的全球影响力到底有多么强大。
“当你在街上无法正常行走时——这在他很小的时候就发生了——我们都意识到了事情的严重性，因为他无法像基利安·姆巴佩 (Kylian Mbappe) 那样把自己藏在连帽衫里，”梅贾纳说。“对维克托来说，这根本不可能。”
在早期的营销计划中，文班阵营顺应了这种好奇心。与耐克合作的“外星人”概念很早就主动找上了门，于是他们顺水推舟。虽然精心且刻意地将他作为一个完整的公众人物推向世界的决定，在一定程度上是为了尊重他作为运动员的优先事项，但它也为文班身上的神秘感增添了稀缺性的价值。
路易威登 (Louis Vuitton) 围绕他打造了许多高光时刻，通常是作为更广泛的运动员宣传活动的一部分，其中还包括他的法国同胞、足球明星姆巴佩以及詹姆斯。最近，在总决赛前夕，他还主演了Fanatics的广告。
他追随马刺前辈们的脚步，出演了标志性的H-E-B广告——这家德克萨斯州超市十多年来一直与马刺球员合作拍摄幽默广告。但他目前在商业领域还算不上是一个无处不在的人物。
“我认为维克托明白，不要被围绕他职业生涯的所有喧嚣所分心，”肖华说。“因为定义他的将是总冠军，而不是商业机会，也不是他针对自己关心的议题发表言论的平台。”
他在工作之外的公开露面往往是自然发生的，而人们则贪婪地捕捉着关于他世界的每一个片段。他的目标是向人们展示，他只是一个普通人，正努力让上天赐予他的生活发挥出最大的价值。
但他过自己的生活，本身就已经成为了一场奇观。
2024年12月，他去纽约的华盛顿广场公园下棋，这成为了他传奇故事中的一个标志性时刻。在去年休赛期的中国和日本之行中，他没有安排任何计划内的公开活动，但记录他现身的社交媒体帖子却成为了国际新闻。围绕他的狂热将他的神秘色彩推向了顶点，以至于根本不需要实际的宣传。
这一点在收视率和数据上得到了体现。
据NBA统计，在文班亚马西部决赛第一场的历史级表现期间，他是全球X（原推特）上热度第一的话题。这场比赛是谷歌全球搜索量最高的话题。这些数据不仅限于体育领域，而是涵盖了所有领域。这是迄今为止最清晰的信号，表明文班亚马可以跨越体育迷的界限，在全球范围内成为一个家喻户晓的名字。
有一件事几乎得到了所有人的认同——要达到那样的巨星地位，运动员必须首先做到一件事。
“归根结底，一个球员想要接过这杆大旗，他们必须赢，”肖华说。“在我和文班的交流中，我强调了这一点，但我其实不确定是否有必要告诉他。成为全球舞台领袖的前提就是赢球。”
文班有机会做到这一点，就从周五对阵尼克斯的第二场比赛开始，这场比赛可能会扳平大比分。如果能一路走下去，他将立刻攀升到新的高度。
“夺冠和在体育史册上留下伟大传奇，这才是最能触动我本能的东西。这才是真正推动我前进的动力，”文班亚马在本赛季早些时候接受The Athletic采访时表示。“它是我生命的火车头，指引着我的方向。”
梅贾纳记得文班亚马十几岁时的一次对话，当时年轻的维克托问他需要做什么才能登上巅峰。他的经纪人告诉他，如果他想成为史上最佳（GOAT），他需要拿到七枚总冠军戒指，比乔丹还要多一枚。
如今作为一名成年人，文班亚马非常明确地表示，他正走在赢得多个总冠军和MVP的征途上。他明白，如果没有在最高水平赛事上的成功，他的全球雄心就无从谈起。
“显然，社交媒体和NBA可以宣传他们想宣传的任何人。但归根结底，真正决定一切的是最好的球员，以及人们渴望看到谁，”文班亚马在全明星赛后表示。“成为联盟的门面，这在一定程度上是可以包装出来的，但也仅此而已。最终只有最好的球员才能做到。这就是全部的真谛。”
现在，文班亚马必须证明，在征服世界的过程中，他依然可以做自己。当然，他还要证明自己能赢。他知道联盟不会把冠军拱手相让。他必须用实力让篮球世界别无选择，只能承认他的伟大。
“我完全同意他的看法。我们不会凭空册封一个联盟门面，”塔图姆说。“那些成为联盟门面的人，都是在球场上用行动证明自己的人。”
但随着文班不断累积胜利，且计划提前取得进展，他的话语权以及发声的意愿也随之增长。
“他的声音会变得越来越有分量，”梅贾纳说。
这已经不仅仅局限于展现他作为一名极具竞争力的篮球革命者的个性。他还公开反对枪支暴力，并坦诚地谈论在公众瞩目下的情感脆弱。他已经成为了NBA的思想领袖之一。
“根据我与迈克尔、魔术师、科比和勒布朗等球员打交道的经验，除了拥有变得伟大的渴望之外，他们还必须能够自如地运用那个平台，并且渴望拥有它……我认为他很享受成为那些历史性人物之一的机会，”肖华说。“他是一个非常成熟的人，我认为他有一种意识，即他可以利用篮球在社会中实现巨大的福祉。”
人们一直期待他的球技会让他脱颖而出。而本赛季，他的真诚与坦率同样令人瞩目。
“我认为球迷懂得什么是真实。这就是他如此迷人的原因，”塔图姆说。“他们能看穿那些刻意包装出来的东西，但维克托是发自内心地在表达。他直言不讳，对自己的言论深思熟虑，但他从不害怕说出自己相信的东西。”
他身边的人从小就能看出他命中注定非同凡响。他的父母培养他去承担这份责任，而他自己也总是带着一种使命感。梅贾纳不确定这种特质究竟源自何处，或许这完全是与生俱来的。
“在如此年轻的年纪，你就有了非常明确的目标，并且确切地知道自己想去哪里，”梅贾纳说。“我以前从未见过这样的情况。更疯狂的是，我觉得维克托甚至比所有人都要努力，即便他已经拥有了所有的天赋工具。”
文班的全球化版图，其承载的意义远不止他个人的明星效应。
文班亚马可能是NBA挑战欧洲篮球计划的关键。塔图姆倾注心血的项目“NBA欧洲”（NBA Europe），旨在打造一个能与欧洲篮球联赛（EuroLeague）抗衡的竞争对手。
肖华在总决赛第一场比赛前表示，特许经营权的竞标将于6月底截止，他们的目标是在2027-28赛季前投入运营。对于那些想要参与其中的人来说，与文班亚马的联系是一个极具吸引力的卖点。
成果已经体现在了海外收视率上，尤其是在2024年带领法国队杀入奥运会金牌争夺战后，他在欧洲的人气一路飙升。据塔图姆透露，马刺是常规赛期间全球NBA联盟通（League Pass）用户增长最快的球队，其在欧洲的收视率增长了30%，在亚洲增长了40%。他们是法国排名第一、欧洲排名第二、全球排名第三的联盟通最受欢迎球队。
随着NBA试图将篮球确立为欧洲大陆第二受欢迎的运动，这项运动在欧洲取得了长足的进步。随着近期NBA全球赛在阿布扎比和迪拜举行，篮球在中东地区也获得了巨大的关注。不过，要达到足球在全球每个角落那样的统治地位，依然还有着巨大的鸿沟。
“当你审视欧洲篮球的商业化时，它在欧洲体育媒体市场中所占的份额还不到1%，”塔图姆说。“因此，人们对篮球运动的热情与篮球的商业化之间存在着这种差距。而我们想做的，就是缩小这一差距。”
随着文班亚马吸引了全世界的目光，在这个可能改变这项运动的时刻，他将全球的关注直接带到了塔图姆和肖华所在的纽约大本营，这也加速了NBA扩张的渴望。
而要在全球范围内产生共鸣，你就必须全身心投入。
肖华指出，文班亚马在圣安东尼奥的前辈之一蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 对此毫无兴趣。“这没关系，”肖华说。但这限制了邓肯的明星效应，而这正是他本人和马刺所乐于接受的。
如今，随着文班亚马站上演讲台，马刺也在发生改变。
这家多年来一直以小市场形象示人的俱乐部，如今也在积极尝试打造全球品牌，他们与来自法国的球衣广告赞助商——加密货币钱包公司Ledger达成了合作。
“从全球化的角度来看，这不仅仅关乎维克托。显然，维克托目前是我们的领头羊，但话又说回来，我们建队的方式从来都不是只围绕某一个球员，”马刺CEO RC·布福德 (RC Buford) 表示。“我们已经见识过那样做会如何破坏一个特许经营俱乐部。我们专注于马刺和整个球队的成长与推广，而维克托是其中非常重要的一部分。”
Ledger首席执行官帕斯卡尔·戈蒂埃 (Pascal Gauthier) 表示，他之所以想与马刺合作，部分原因在于文班亚马与该品牌的紧密联系将提升其在美国和法国本土的知名度。此外，这也带来了一项福利——当他访问圣安东尼奥时，可以坐在场边观战。
但他甚至都懒得要求去和维克托握手。
“我从未见过他，我也不在乎。我不在乎。我希望他努力训练，做好他的本职工作，”戈蒂埃说。“他不需要来和我握手，也不需要去应酬赞助商。我只希望他继续做他现在正在做的事情。”
过去五年里，该俱乐部负责战略增长的副总裁布兰登·詹姆斯 (Brandon James) 一直致力于扩大球队在奥斯汀的影响力。马刺每年都会在奥斯汀度过一周，期间会在那里打两场常规赛主场比赛，并在全市范围内举办丰富的球迷活动和各种推广活动。这在文班亚马加盟之前就已经开始，但他将这一活动变成了德克萨斯州首府的一场盛大狂欢。
“坦率地说，如果我们仅仅依靠210区号（圣安东尼奥本地市场），我们将没有足够的资源在竞争如此激烈的NBA版图中立足，”詹姆斯表示。“我们当时在想，我们拥有这个全球品牌，而且在专属辐射范围内，距离我们70英里外就是奥斯汀。如果我们能善用这些优势并有针对性地进行布局，我们就能摆脱历史上‘小市场球队’的标签，转型为全球性豪强。”
值得庆幸的是，在布福德和前主帅格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 的长期领导下，马刺数十年来一直在圣安东尼奥打造国际化的坚实阵地。马刺是第一支开始组建由世界各地球员组成的夺冠阵容的特许经营球队。如今，他们拥有了有史以来进入NBA的最具天赋的海外球员。
文班亚马已被证明是完美的选择，反之亦然。现在，联盟希望“文班时代”能够延续很长一段时间。
“我想从与他的交流中可以看出，无论他今年夺冠还是在未来几年夺冠，只要他继续保持目前的轨道，他就计划在很长一段时间内保持统治力，”肖华说。“我不太想给他增加压力，因为，看看詹姆斯就知道了。维克托非常注重保养身体。从现在开始，他完全可以在赛场上再打20年。”
文班亚马乐于迎接这种压力。他从一开始就志存高远，并且一直在以最高标准要求自己。总决赛就是他证明自己名副其实的机会。
随着文班前往纽约，他能否确立自己真正享誉全球的地位？有人说，他已经做到了。
“当文班打个喷嚏，”布兰登·詹姆斯说，“全世界都能听到。”
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Inside the plan to make Wemby the biggest athlete on the planet (no soda allowed)
Inside the plan to make Wemby the biggest athlete on the planet (no soda allowed)
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.”
By Jared Weiss, via The Athletic