Don’t ask Victor Wembanyama to do any soda ads.
Before he even made it to the NBA, when he was earning just $150,000 playing in France, the Spurs star and Frenchman rejected lucrative soda endorsements worth millions.
“We’re not gonna mix his image with sodas like Coca-Cola,” his agent Jérémy Medjana told The Athletic. “They all want him, but Victor will never sell soda. Because he doesn’t want to kill the kids.”
The 22-year-old phenom is reportedly so committed to his stance of promoting positive health that he doesn’t begin press conferences until Gatorade bottles are removed. Meanwhile, he endorses Barcode, a plant-based performance drink with no added sugar.
Wembanyama currently has deals with Nike, Louis Vuitton, 2K Sports, Fanatics, Authentic and H-E-B and understands more deals will flow in if he wins it all, but brand deals aren’t his main focus now.
“I think what Victor understands is not to be distracted by all of the fanfare around his career,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told The Athletic. “Because he will be defined by championships, not by commercial opportunities or the platform he has to speak out on issues he cares about.”
The first overall pick by the Spurs in 2023, Wembanyama has taken the league by storm since his arrival.
After averaging 21.4 points per game as a rookie in 2023-24, Wembanyama increased that number to 24.3 last season and 25 this year. He also finished third in MVP voting this season, behind just Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Wembanyama also took home Western Conference Finals MVP honors after beating the Thunder in seven games to send the Spurs to their first NBA Finals since 2014.
The center went just 6-of-21 in the Spurs 105-95 loss to the Knicks in Game 1 of the Finals Wednesday, but can rebound Friday night.
Game 2 is set for 8:30 Eastern.
