As LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant near the ends of their NBA careers, the league and media are searching for a new face. Despite the debates, Victor Wembanyama has arrived and planted himself as the future of the league.
The NBA, perhaps more than any other sport, falls victim to debates and hot takes.
Who's the best player ever? Is that guy a bust? Did that star demand a trade? All opinion-based talk, usually without any real evidence.
As LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant near the ends of their careers, the "Next Face of the NBA Debate" has taken over, although not for any good reason.
Talking heads have touted Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cooper Flagg, and Anthony Edwards as the next top marketers of the league and basketball worldwide, although talk is cheap and is quickly growing stale.
There's No Point in Never-Ending NBA Debate
Victor Wembanyama is the face of the NBA. I know what you're thinking: "This is SpursRoundtable, they have their biases." We do! Shamelessly! But there's really no room for debate.
The numbers back us up, even if some self-proclaimed "experts" might want to continue to spout nonsense.
"Ant-Man is going to be the face of the NBA," claimed Stephen A. Smith. "You mark it down. Wembanyama is right there with him, might win before him for all we know. But Ant-Man is going to be right there. He is spectacular."
Edwards is great, perhaps the best American-born player right now, but as basketball becomes a global game, being born in the USA isn't a qualifier to be the face of the NBA. Wembanyama is fourth in jersey sales, two spots above Edwards, and has more social media followers. On top of that, he is signed to endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, and Louis Vuitton, just to name a few.
Money talks, and social media following is a very real measure of popularity. On top of that, Wembanyama is one of the most PR-trained players in the league. Edwards, meanwhile, isn't exactly a class act. Nor does he want to be. Wembanyama seems to embrace the role.
While talking about the next face of the NBA can be fun, it's like debating over the best pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. There was a time when it was between Hakeem and Jordan, but there's no point in talking about it anymore. These debates have been settled.