Wembanyama inadvertently building strongest case for face of the NBA

It's happening how it should: naturally.
San Antonio Spurs v Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs v Sacramento Kings | Ezra Shaw/GettyImages

The land of Wemby. The giant was spotted in San Antonio playing basketball with a random teenager he saw hooping by himself. That's an experience that the kid will never forget. These "man of the people" events are stacking up in Victor Wembanyama's young career, and they all seem to be organic.

Victor gifted a jersey he just finished sweating in to one kid after a game. He showed up at a sports card store in San Antonio, surprising the fans in attendance, and reached out to the masses for an impromptu battle of wits with some chess in the park after playing games in New York. He's building a reputation as being a down-to-earth, friendly guy everyone will end up loving.

There have been constant conversations lately about who the next face of the NBA will be once LeBron James and Steph Curry retire. Folks have tried to assign that role to players, but it doesn't work like that.

The face of the NBA is chosen naturally

This isn't something that we really talk about before it happens. When LeBron became the face of the league, there was no meeting of the minds to declare that so. Bron showed up every season as an absolute beast on the court, and the way he carried himself elevated his status above his peers in the way he addressed league issues and, frankly, worldwide issues.

Whether Anthony Edwards wants it or not, it's not his to decline, no matter how badly talking heads want him to have it. I've heard people question why Jayson Tatum is overlooked, but the fact that he's been overlooked is enough to end the conversation. You can't talk a player into being the face of the league almost a decade into their career.

In Wembanyama's rookie season, he was one of the most viewed athletes in the world on social platforms. People are already checking for him at an insane rate. It seems like I'm trying to convince you, just like I said you can't do for others, but I'm more so explaining what's taking place. I don't need to convince you of something that's inevitable. Time will prove me right.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic can't be the faces of the league either. It's for the same reason why Tatum can't. It took too long for them to reach the level necessary to even consider it. We didn't grow with those players like we have the opportunity to do with Wembanyama. We were there, but we weren't watching as closely.

Fans and media watched Michael Jordan closely throughout his career, Kobe Bryant was watched closely, and LeBron James was watched closely. The Spurs will have to do their part in ensuring the team around the Alien is good enough to constantly challenge for the title, because that's another prerequisite. You can't spend too much time playing on trash teams.

Nobody expects that to happen, though. The beginning of the rise to the top starts next season. I have no doubts Wembanyama will do his part. He's going to explode on the league. It will all start to fall into place after that.