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San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is unquestionably a candidate to become the next face of the NBA. In fact, even Anthony Edwards recently said that Wembanyama could earn the title. During a recent ESPN First Take segment, however, Stephen A. Smith said that he doesn't believe that “an international player can be the face of the NBA.” Shannon Sharpe agreed with Smith's take.
“For me, I'm not sure there is (a current future face of the NBA,” Sharpe said. “(Anthony Edwards) has told you he doesn't want to be one. His favorite player is Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant says, ‘I just want to show up and hoop'… Ja (Morant) might've could've been it, but he had some off the court issues that kind of slowed him down… Zion (Williamson) just has never really materialized… To make a long story short… I'm not so sure there is a next face… It's just hard for me to see… a foreign born player being the face of the NBA.
“I'm not saying that it can't happen, it's just hard for me to visualize that considering the faces that we've seen.”
Well, Shannon, it may be time to begin visualizing Victor Wembanyama as the next face of the NBA. At just 21 years old, the 7'3″ phenom is already an All-Star and NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He can shoot, dribble, finish at the basket, block shots and do just about everything on the floor.
Fans are not exactly in agreement with Sharpe on his take. Analysts may be hesitant to give Wembanyama his flowers, but fans are confident in his future as the potential face of the NBA.
“Ant doesn’t want it, Ja can’t stay out of trouble, Zion can’t live healthy, Tatum has no aura. But the actual superstars like Jokic, Luka, Wemby, Giannis won’t be considered bc they weren’t born here… what a joke,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“What does Wemby have to do to earn respect as a once in a lifetime player?” another fan added.
“Wemby is the face. The only guy that plays hard in the All Star game,” a third fan wrote.
Sharpe made the point that past faces of the NBA have indeed been American. However, that doesn't mean that an international player can't become the face of the league.
Sure, there needs to be a respectable amount of balance between talent, desire, personality, respect and more. The face of the league needs to win while playing hard on the floor. Oftentimes, the face of the NBA is also the best player in the NBA.
Wembanyama still has room to improve, but his ceiling suggests he may earn the honor at some point down the road.
