“I would embrace it for sure,” said Wembanyama on becoming the face of the NBA.
SAN ANTONIO — The NBA announced that the Paris Game 2025, which took place on Thursday, Jan. 23, between the Indiana Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs, set several records in television viewership and digital and social media engagement.
According to the league, that game was the most-watched regular-season NBA game ever on French television. Also, NBA League Pass viewership was up 41% in France and 19% globally compared to last year’s Paris Game.
The game was the most-viewed NBA Global Game ever on the league’s social media accounts, with 218 million views.
The records did not end with the game alone. Content centered on Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama also shot up.
“Content featuring Victor Wembanyama in Paris this week has propelled him to become the second most-viewed NBA player across the league’s social media accounts this season (817M+ views),” the league reported. “This week alone, content featuring Wembanyama has generated more than 108M views.”
Overall, the Paris Games 2025 was also a success off the court.
The Spurs and Wembanyama helped open two new basketball courts, engaged fans extensively in and throughout Paris, held basketball clinics for young athletes, and promoted the Spurs brand globally.
WEMBY TALKS ABOUT BECOMING THE FACE OF THE NBA
Many peg Wembanyama to quickly take the mantle as the face of the NBA.
But is he ready to take the responsibility despite being so young in his career?
The Spurs center weighed in on the topic with ESPN and is ready to carry the baton.
“I would embrace it for sure, but I would keep in mind that this is not the way to approach things,” he said. “For me, the way I approach things is making sure that I’m the guy in the NBA today that works the hardest.”
There’s little doubt Wemby will ultimately be the face of the NBA.
Aside from his on-court skillset, he has a global reach. He is a popular player with fans from San Antonio to France and everywhere.
And so far in his career, he’s been drama-free off the court, and that is another layer to him that makes him the league’s posterchild soon enough.