San Antonio Spurs<\/a> star was unequivocal when asked after Thursday\u2019s training camp workout if he would consider partnering with a sportsbook.<\/p>\n\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cI will never do that. Honestly, I think it\u2019s very sad to see some players promote it. Everybody does whatever they want, but without me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wembanyama said his approach to sponsorships has evolved during his ascent to one of basketball\u2019s biggest stars. While money once factored into his thinking, he said he has come to prioritize whether potential partnerships align with his personal values.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, there was a dimension of money,\u201d he said. \u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wembanyama added that he has rejected offers worth considerably more than the endorsement deals he has accepted because he did not feel comfortable with what he would be promoting.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we earn millions and millions. This is not our biggest strength. Our biggest strength is inspiring. I want to inspire in a good way. That\u2019s the strongest thing I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wembanyama\u2019s position stands in contrast to several of the NBA\u2019s most prominent stars, who have established relationships with sportsbooks or prediction-market companies.<\/p>\n
LeBron James announced a partnership with Polymarket in September after previously working with DraftKings. Kevin Durant has an endorsement deal with FanDuel and is an investor in the prediction market Kalshi, while Giannis Antetokounmpo announced earlier this year that he had become a Kalshi shareholder. Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Joki\u0107 has served as an ambassador for Superbet in Serbia since 2023.<\/p>\n
NBA players are permitted to endorse sports betting companies under the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement, subject to restrictions. They cannot promote wagering on NBA-related markets but can enter broader endorsement arrangements and hold limited investments in gambling companies.<\/p>\n
The French center enters his fourth NBA season after helping San Antonio reach the NBA finals for the first time since 2014. He was unanimously voted Defensive Player of the Year last season after leading the league in blocked shots for a third consecutive year.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama, who also finished third in MVP voting, made clear Thursday that his increasing prominence will not change where he draws the line on endorsements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to promote things that have a good impact, have a good influence with who I can share messages and values,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victor Wembanyama has ruled out ever endorsing a sports betting company, saying he was saddened to see fellow…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868044,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-868043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}