When Victor Wembanyama stretched from behind the hoop to throw down a dunk that maybe only he alone can pull off, it was a good reminder of where he finds himself entering his fourth NBA season. It came in Sunday\u2019s FIBA World Cup qualifier, as the national team the 22-year-old now captains slammed the door in crunch time on a Sweden team that had France on the ropes all night.<\/p>\n
This was the kind of play that first sparked the fascination with the face of the San Antonio Spurs \u2014 and now, perhaps, the entire sport.<\/p>\n
Victor Wembanyama continues to amaze, amaze, amaze. \ud83d\udc7d#FIBAWC<\/a> | #StepItUp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/P2v9cwNl4K<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup \ud83c\udfc6 (@FIBAWC) August 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n But now, the lore of Wemby goes beyond his on-court activity. Last NBA season was also a transformation for Wembanyama\u2019s public persona. He became a thought leader, a meme factory or an enemy, depending on who watched. Stop a New Yorker for their thoughts on the young phenom, and the answer will probably contain some combination of \u201cHe\u2019s incredible!\u201d and\/or \u201cScrew him.\u201d He is widely adored but has his detractors, as most greats do.<\/p>\n But the friction isn\u2019t just in the U.S. Wembanyama has caught some flak from French right-wing commentators for his outspokenness, particularly when he was one of the first NBA players to speak out about the killing of Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in January.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, I wake up and see the news, and I\u2019m horrified,\u201d he said in January<\/a>. \u201cI think that it\u2019s crazy that some people might make it seem or make it sound like it\u2019s acceptable, like the murder of civilians is acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n That prompted a response from French columnist Juliette Briens, who went on national radio station RMC\u2019s program \u201cEstelle Midi\u201d to slam him for taking a stand, according to Le Parisien.<\/a> National teammate Guerschon Yabusele came to Wembanyama\u2019s defense<\/a>, but the moment became a flashpoint that showed Wembanyama was entering the broader societal conversation in France.<\/p>\n So when Wembanyama returned to his home country last month as a player with the national team and faced the broader French media, the questions began to stray from basketball. That produced a subtle but important moment that foreshadowed the direction of Wembanyama\u2019s career and place in global sports.<\/p>\n Last week, Wembanyama was asked for his thoughts on the 2027 French presidential election, in which right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) \u2014 formerly known as the National Front \u2014 party leader Marine Le Pen leads the polls<\/a> to succeed Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the years go by, I have fewer and fewer filters, and I\u2019m less and less afraid to say what I think,\u201d Wembanyama said in French to reporters last week<\/a>. \u201cI haven\u2019t looked into the presidential election closely enough, but I\u2019m not afraid to share my opinion, either. I\u2019m not afraid of upsetting people.\u201d<\/p>\n In June 2024, Wembanyama was one of several French athletes \u2014 including footballers Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and Marcus Thuram \u2014 who spoke out against the RN in the elections taking place just before the Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, political choices are personal, but for me, it is important to take a distance from extremes, which are not the direction to take for a country like ours,\u201d Wembanyama told reporters then<\/a>.<\/p>\n But there is a stark difference between the Wembanyama of today and the one of 2024. Before the Olympics, he was an emerging face in French sports rather than a household name. That appears to be changing fast, and it certainly will if he begins to speak up ahead of the 2027 election. Meanwhile, his presence has already taken off in the U.S., as he is one of the NBA\u2019s biggest stars and, as of this summer<\/a>, a signature athlete with Nike.<\/p>\n Wembanyama is no longer the next big thing. He\u2019s a face of two massive institutions. His decision to wade into politics, or to speak his mind about anything off the court, comes with even more responsibility.<\/p>\n The chain of events tends to start with a transcendent athlete bringing something new to the sport that piques the public\u2019s curiosity. Then, that athlete starts to reveal more of themselves as bigger media crowds bring in a wider range of topics and types of reporters. Once an athlete like Wembanyama shows he is willing to take on a topic in the political or social justice arena, it can open a door to him becoming a sounding board for general news items, such as a presidential election.<\/p>\n The inside story of how Wemby hand-picked the Spurs cheer section<\/p>\n Jared Weiss<\/p>\n Wembanyama wants to build something, though it\u2019s not yet clear what that will be. In an interview with The Athletic last season about founding San Antonio\u2019s Jackals supporters club<\/a>, he said that while the pursuit of championships and sports greatness is what speaks to his instincts regarding him building a legacy, there is more he wants to do beyond just his first grand project in San Antonio.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the locomotive of my life and my direction. But there\u2019s many things I want to do, various ambitious things,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cSome secret projects. Some that are becoming public as time passes more and more, because they\u2019re getting realized.\u201d<\/p>\n He helped build the Jackals, which became a community organization in the city. He hosts Hoop Gambit, an annual chess-plus-basketball tournament in France, which was played in his former pro basketball home of Nanterre, as well as in his hometown of Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt. Small steps. So, where will it lead?<\/p>\n Perhaps the French election could provide an indication of the type of public figure Wembanyama wants to be.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t say much this time around because, as he often acknowledges, he doesn\u2019t know enough to speak publicly on it. But he said that there will be a time when he is ready to speak out. His decision to stand firm on his freedom of expression indicates that the bigger checks and exposure flying his way will not change how he uses his platform. Or, at least, he doesn\u2019t intend for that to happen.<\/p>\n Time will tell. But he showed that he is not afraid to not care about what people think of him.<\/p>\n He revealed that in last year\u2019s playoffs, when an elbow to the Minnesota Timberwolves\u2019 Naz Reid<\/a>, a shove of the New York Knicks\u2019 Jalen Brunson and other rough plays made him persona non grata in several corners of the NBA world. He displayed it many times in news conferences this past season, when he criticized unethical basketball<\/a>, vowed to bring competition back to the NBA All-Star Game<\/a> and campaigned for himself to win MVP<\/a>. Even the way he wondered aloud during the finals if the Spurs\u2019 inexperience could help them avoid feeling the pressure of the moment was brashly naive.<\/p>\n He paid the price in the result of that series, but his candor appeared unassuming.<\/p>\n He has grown comfortable with the idea that being a superstar, a true superstar, means that haters are simply part of the job.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a quote \u2014 I can\u2019t remember who said it \u2014 but it goes something like, \u2018I know not everyone likes me, and when I see who doesn\u2019t like me, I ask myself whether that really bothers me,\u2019\u201d Wembanyama said last week in French, quoting \u201cDikkenek,\u201d a French comedy film. \u201cFor me, there are certain values that guide me and that I\u2019m completely comfortable with. I wouldn\u2019t even call it taking a stand. I\u2019d simply call it giving my opinion, because I don\u2019t support any particular political figure or party.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, there are things that I find problematic, and when I see them, I have no problem speaking up about them.\u201d<\/p>\n A consistent theme in Wembanyama\u2019s public presence is his proclivity for speaking his mind unfiltered. He talks with a directness and stream of consciousness that have led to fascinating insights, controversial moments and enlightening vulnerability. He has shown a willingness to process his opinions and emotions out in the open, in a way that is quite foreign to the modern athlete archetype. He gives questions significant thought, often pausing for a while before answering, and methodically pieces together his responses.<\/p>\n Most athletes in his position don\u2019t show their processing. They are swift and sharp in how they speak. The vulnerability is hidden behind years of media training and experience.<\/p>\n Wembanyama is already at the point of his career where he can no longer exceed expectations. Even his best, even the best we\u2019ve seen, will just be what he\u2019s supposed to do. The pressure to crush it every time one steps on the court or in front of a mic can push powerful people back into their shell.<\/p>\n Will that become Wembanyama? Or will every answer remain an adventure?<\/p>\n Take him at his word. The bigger he gets, the less he\u2019ll worry about what people think.<\/p>\n