NBA star Victor Wembanyama has taken a hard stance against sports gambling companies.
While some of the league’s top players, including LeBron James and Kevin Durant, are openly promoting sports betting and prediction market companies, the San Antonio Spurs star says that he will “never” do it.
Wembanyama told Spurs reporter Mike Finger on Thursday that he thinks it’s “sad” that athletes use their platform to promote sports betting. Athletes like LeBron and Durant are paid millions by companies like Polymarket and DraftKings and FanDuel. According to Front Office Sports, LeBron’s deal with Polymarket, a prediction market company, is worth $15 million per year.
But don’t expect Wembanyama, who is quickly becoming the league’s biggest star, to do something similar.
“Absolutely not. I will never do that,” he said to Finger.
“Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it. …Everybody does whatever they want, but without me.”
Wembanyama has taken strong stances regarding sponsorship before.
Over the summer, his agent admitted that his client refuses to do endorsements with soda brands, because he thinks they’re unhealthy.
“We’re not gonna mix his image with sodas like Coca-Cola,” his agent Jérémy Medjana told The Athletic. “They all want him, but Victor will never sell soda. Because he doesn’t want to kill the kids.”
Wembanyama has deals with companies like Nike, Louis Vuitton, 2K Sports, Fanatics, Authentic and H-E-B. However, he’s made it clear that basketball, not endorsements, are his main focus.
“I think what Victor understands is not to be distracted by all of the fanfare around his career,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told The Athletic. “Because he will be defined by championships, not by commercial opportunities or the platform he has to speak out on issues he cares about.”
Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is coming off his third professional season. He helped lead the Spurs to an NBA Finals appearance in June, though they were defeated by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
The 2026-27 NBA regular season begins later in October.
