As Stephen Curry and LeBron James get closer and closer to retiring, Victor Wembanyama is expected to replace them as the face of the NBA.
For much of the 2000s and into the 2010s, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were the faces of the NBA. Sure, there were other great players, like Kevin Durant, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Steve Nash, but no one combined the on-court talent and off-court marketability like James and Bryant.
As Bryant's career wound down, he remained a superstar, but Stephen Curry replaced him. Thanks in large part thanks to Curry's revolutionary playstyle, fans were able to see a bit of their own game in his, boosting his popularity.
Heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, both James and Curry are facing the end of their careers. Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have long since replaced them as the best players in the NBA, but Victor Wembanyama is ready to replace them as the biggest star basketball has to offer.
Wemby to Replace Stephen Curry, LeBron James
Between Antetokounmpo, Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama, and Luka Doncic, all of the best players in the NBA are international. Wembanyama, it seems, is the most eager to represent his country and grow his brand abroad, which is one of the many reasons why the league is putting him front and center.
Some of his peers have noticed it.
"You have to be someone who is highly marketable, someone who is recognizable, but also someone who doesn't have much drama going on off the floor," explained Myles Turner. "LeBron and Steph have done an amazing job. Steph has an amazing image. Steph has done an incredible job of keeping his family first. He's done a lot of stuff with his own brand, golf.LeBron has obviously been the chosen one since he was, what, 15 years old."
Between the talent, exuberance, eagerness, and general lack of controversy, Wembanyama is a clear choice. Granted, he was given the reputation as a "dirty player" in the NBA playoffs, but elbowing Naz Reid and shoving Jalen Brunson isn't enough to do any real damage to his reputation.
"It's not just your basketball talent," Turner added. "It's the person that you are off the floor, the things you stand for, and the thing that you're about."
Turner, like everyone else around the NBA, sees Wembanyama as a long-term representative for the game, and thinks the league is in good hands.
