In the midst of the 2026 NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs growing superstar Victor Wembanyama continues to prove why he is the next face of the NBA, taking the torch that has been passed from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who have run the NBA for the better part of the last two decades.
This isn't all that surprising that Wembanyama is becoming the face of the NBA, especially since he made it public earlier this year that he sees it happening and fully embraces the weight that comes with such a title.
Since being drafted first overall in 2023, the NBA has long looked to Wembanyama to lead this game and league into the future, and he is playing his part to perfection. Wembanyama will be the No. 1 face of the NBA before we know it, and he's doing everything in his power to make sure he sets a good example for his following, especially the kids who idolize him.
Although other stars may sell their souls to companies and media days to maximize on their overall profit, Wemby isn't like that. More importantly, him and his representatives are all on the same page about endorsement deals and promoting certain companies.
“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,” Jeremy Medjana of Comsport, one of Wembanyama's long-time agents told The Athletic. “If you sign too many deals, then you cannot stay focused on the main goal to be better, to get rest, to get treatment.”
Getting better, resting, and receiving treatment to improve long-term are three of the major values Wembnayama lives by. It is also why Wembanyama doesn't appear in every commercial on television like other athletes, specifically for certain food or beverage brands.
Even before he signed his four-year, $55 million NBA rookie contract as the first-overall pick, Wembanyama refused to sign marketing deals with prominent beverage brands, choosing to instead live fully on his $150,000 salary from his French club, Metropolitans 92.
“We’re not gonna mix his image with sodas like Coca-Cola,” Medjana continued. “They all want him, but Victor will never sell soda. Because he doesn’t want to kill the kids.”
And this extends well past soda brands, as Wembanyama is notorious for pushing away the iconic Gatorade bottles or any other energy drink that oftentimes sits next to players during their press conferences with the media. Wembanyama wants no part of any soda or energy drink simply because he doesn't believe promoting them is good for his fans, especially the kids!
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Victor Wembanyama's personality begins to surface more, starting with showing his hatred for Gatorade bottles pic.twitter.com/B69MvRcUvF
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) December 26, 2025
When speaking with The Athletic about his sudden rise to becoming the face of the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver said in the past, Wembanyama wouldn't have even attracted the attention he has until he won on the biggest stage — the NBA Finals.
“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.”
Wembanyama is truly one-of-a-kind, both in terms of size and the way he carries himself.
Unlike other athletes who become world icons, Wembanyama doesn't ever envision selling his soul to endorsement deals and promoting beliefs that don't align with his for the sake of making a quick buck.
It may sound crazy that he won't sell soda because he doesn't want to “kill the kids,” but this is what Wemby believes in, and it's why he is becoming the new face of the NBA.
In the midst of the 2026 NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs growing superstar Victor Wembanyama continues to prove why he is the next face of the NBA, taking the torch that has been passed from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who have run the NBA for the better part of the last two decades.