Victor Wembanyama will not be selling out any time soon.
The San Antonio Spurs superstar Wembanyama spoke with reporters during training camp on Thursday. At one point, Wembanyama was asked if he would ever consider promoting a sports gambling company.
“Absolutely not,” replied Wembanyama. “I would never do that. Honestly, I think it’s very sad to see some players promote it in my opinion.
“Everybody does whatever they want,” Wembanyama added. “But without me.”
Wembanyama’s comments come in the wake of sports betting sponsorships quickly becoming mainstream as top professional leagues fully embrace gambling. For the NBA in particular, multiple superstar names have already partnered with sports betting companies and prediction markets.
Last season, Miami Heat star Giannis Antetokoumpo received backlash for his partnership with betting platform Kalshi. Then we learned earlier this summer that Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James had entered into a very lucrative deal with prediction market Polymarket (after previously having a similar deal with DraftKings).
As sports betting continues to grow and explode as an industry, many more star athletes (current and retired) will presumably be entering into such business partnerships. But for his part, the 22-year-old reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Wembanyama will not be joining that bandwagon any time soon.
