NBA – Dwyane Wade snubs Victor Wembanyama: «He’s the next face of the the league»

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Impressive since his NBA debut, Victor Wembanyama is considered the league’s next leader after the retirement of superstars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry. But the legendary Dwyane Wade doesn’t seem to agree.

It must still be strange for fans of the 2010s not to see LeBron James or Stephen Curry in the Finals, among others. Remember that the former went every year between 2011 and 2018 and that the two superstars faced each other four seasons in a row, before the King settled down in Los Angeles. However, it’s not certain that we’ll see them battle for the NBA championship again.

At 40 and 37 years old respectively, LBJ and Chef Curry are largely leaning towards the end of their careers and retirement is approaching. The same goes for Kevin Durant, who is the same age as his former Warriors teammate, and for several months now, the debate has been raging: who will replace them as the face of the league once they are gone?

For many observers, the answer seems obvious since the arrival of Victor Wembanyama in 2023. The French center shines while donning the Spurs jersey, has everything it takes to revolutionize the game on his position, and to top it all off, his mentality and discipline are unanimously praised. In fact, the question wouldn’t even arise if the Alien were from the United States, a fundamental requirement according to his critics.

Dwyane Wade gives his vote to Anthony Edwards

For his part, Dwyane Wade also seems to favor an option other than the Spurs superstar. His sights are set more on Minnesota, as the three-time NBA champion recently explained on his podcast The Timeout:

(Anthony Edwards) is the first person who said “I don’t wanna be the face of the league,” who is the face of the league.

Ironically, Ant-Man had publicly stated that he was willing to let Wemby take on the role, not wanting to deal with the responsibilities that came with it. But for Flash, that’s precisely what makes him the ideal candidate for the honorary title. The former guard defended his thesis by citing a heated altercation between Edwards and referees during the 2024-25 season, praising his attitude in hindsight:

He took own of the mistake as a young man, making a young mistake. He’s like, ‘I gotta kids watching me, I got parents who allowed their kids to watch me that support me, I can’t do that.’ But he owned up to it, I’m young, I made a mistake and I won’t do it again. That’s why, to me, he is the face of the game. He’s not perfect, and he don’t wanna be perfect, that’s the world we live in, none of us is perfect.