San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama is regarded by many as the prime candidate to be the next face of the NBA, but LeSean McCoy doesn’t see it happening. McCoy, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, explained on Speakeasy why Wembanyama won’t be holding that title.
“Listen, Wemby is a great player,” McCoy said. “My son, he’s one of my son’s favorites. My son loves Wemby. But if I ask him to pick who you want to be like, he ain’t going to say Wemby. He can’t really relate to that. My guy’s from France, he’s 7 foot. He can’t relate to that. Number two, do you own a pair of Wemby sneakers?”
That question was for co-host Emmanuel Acho, who said he does not. Acho was wearing Air Jordans at the time.
Now, Nike has not given Wembanyama a signature shoe yet. It is unclear why that is the case, but it is only a matter of time before one comes out. Nike has released some player-exclusive colorways for now. The first was the apple green and black Nike Air Zoom G.T. Hustle 2 “Alien”, which came out in 2024. It sold out in minutes after it was released, so it’s not like there has never been any demand.
McCoy, though, doesn’t believe the signature shoe would generate much interest.
“The thing is like, yo, you have to relate to the game,” McCoy stated. “And I think he’s a great player, but if you ask the little kids running around that’s not in the Spurs in San Antonio, like, yo, if you had to pick one sneaker, go to the mall to go get, right? And we going to pay for it. I guarantee you 90% of them kids will not say, yo, go out there and give me the Wemby shoes.”
McCoy also pointed out that Wembanyama, who is averaging 24.5 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game in 2025-26, doesn’t appear in too many commercials.
“When you talk about the face, the face got to be a great player and somebody that everybody can relate to, and they got to have that certain thing about them,” McCoy said. “Okay, [Nikola] Jokic, so you talking about successful players. He’s a foreign player. He has MVPs. He everything you want. God, he pass the ball, he do everything. He ain’t the face.”
McCoy believes you have to be from the U.S. to be the face of the NBA. It’s not an opinion we haven’t heard before. Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony also thinks Wembanyama can’t be the face of the NBA because he’s not American.
Victor Wembanyama On Potentially Being The Next Face Of The NBA
While McCoy and Anthony don’t see Wembanyama becoming the face, the man himself won’t rule it out. The Frenchman was asked if he sees himself as the person to step up and say he wants to be the face of the NBA.
“Yeah, I see that,” Wembanyama said. “I see what you’re trying to make me say, too. It’s something that’s got to be natural, of course. Obviously, social media, NBA can promote whoever they want.”
“But at the end of the day, it’s going to be the best players and who the people ask for,” Wembanyama continued. “Being the face of the league, it’s something that can be manufactured, but only to some extent.”
“It’s only going to be the best players,” Wembanyama added. “This is what it’s all about. Sh**, being the face of the league is just the by-product of… and I’m saying that like somebody being the face of the league would just be the by-product of their basketball level.”
You can’t force-feed someone down the fans’ throats. They’ll ultimately end up deciding who gets that title, and Wembanyama does have the game and the personality for it. He is one of the best players in the NBA and exudes the kind of supreme confidence that wins over viewers.
