Draymond's absurd Wemby question has already been answered emphatically

It's fitting to have a Draymond Green-sparked conversation about the Face of the League and whether that person can be from another country during Rivals Week. Green has been an enemy of logical takes for a long time. On the Draymond Show, the 4x champion recycled the same Stephen A. Smith-esque opinions that we should have thrown in the incinerator long ago.

"We still have yet to see a non-American be the face of the NBA. The face of the NBA and the best player in the NBA are two totally different things. We all know how special Wemby is... but in saying that, can you have a face of the NBA that's from France?" - Draymond

Again, the answer to that question is a resounding "Yes." These guys get in front of microphones and regurgitate these fake-introspective questions that can be taken apart by applying just a little bit of thought, but I guess I'll do the thinking for them.

History only matters when there's an appropriate comparison

If anyone can name the international player in the past who came over to the NBA at a young age with anything close to the hype Victor Wembanyama had? Which one of them earned a nickname anything close to the Alien, where hall of famers were sounding the alarm about what was coming down the pike before he was drafted?

Then I want you to tell me if that player (who doesn't exist) exceeded that hype right as the game's current face was fading. Timing is just as important as anything, and LeBron James is on his way out. The NBA just announced which players are currently selling the most jerseys, and Victor Wembanyama came in fifth, ahead of King James.

You know who decides who the face of the league is going to be? The fans by where they focus their attention and money, and the NBA by how often they put that player at the forefront of marketing opportunities. Clearly, the people are putting their dollars behind him with the jersey sales, so let's check in on the viewership.

Oh, okay. Looks like he's doing great there, too. Wemby is the fastest player to reach a billion views across the NBA's social media platforms. That December 25th game against OKC had the highest number of viewers of all the games that holiday, and it was the league's most-watched game on Christmas in 15 years.

It was San Antonio's second Christmas Day game in as many years. The NBA gets it. That's why they gave the Silver and Black over 20 national TV games this season and then proceeded to flex additional contests into the spotlight once the campaign began after they saw how successful the team already was.

So, no disrespect to Dirk Nowitzki, Hakeem Olajuwon, Toni Kukoc, or whoever else you can think of. They didn't check every single box from hype to production, personality, and intrigue like Wembanyama does. The league and fans continue to answer this question at every turn, so let's stop asking it and move on to more important things. Like, why the Spurs could win a ring this year.