“Be Yourself”: Victor Wembanyama Responds to Anthony Edwards Denying “Face of the League” Title

There’s something about Victor Wembanyama that brings out the best in Anthony Edwards, and yesterday was no different. The Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard essentially took the game away from Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, scoring 55 points in a tightly contested 126-123 thriller. Following the game, however, Edwards made headlines for a different reason. When asked about being the face of the league, he simply said, ‘No, thanks.’ Sort of.

During his post-game interview, Edwards was asked what it is about facing the Spurs that motivates him, and he responded with, “They’ve got Wemby. He’s supposed to be the face of the league, so I’ve always gotta get up for that one.” It should be noted that both athletes were first overall draft picks. Wemby has, of course, been anointed by many as LeBron James’ successor… not that it seems to bother Edwards in any way.

Pressed about the ‘face of the league’ title, Edwards said, “Victor can have it.” Edwards likely understands the burden that title brings and simply wants to be himself without carrying that pressure. And Wembanyama, for his part, seems to understand why Edwards wants no part of the discussion.

The Spurs star was asked about Edwards politely passing over the mantle to him after the game. Wemby took a diplomatic route in response to Edwards’ candor, asserting that the Wolves shooting guard was right and that players have to be true to themselves.

“I think it’s a good thing to be guided in life in general. And for us, it’s a great thing to be grown in this. The good thing is to be yourself because if we want to last in this league, we can’t play a role for 15, 20 years. So at some point it’s like, if you think you’re a good person, just be yourself,” Wemby said.

“People sometimes are gonna be angry at you, sometimes people are gonna love [you]. As long as you are yourself and happy … we’re playing basketball, we got a great life,” he added.

But as respectful as the two have been toward each other, last night’s game proved there was no love lost when it came to on-court performances.

The Spurs and the Wolves have faced each other three times this season, but only twice have both Wembanyama and Edwards been involved. During their previous meeting last Sunday, Minnesota managed to sneak past San Antonio by a single point.

They were en route to doing it again last night, and the Spurs were almost helping matters by losing three of the four quarters. Thankfully for the River City crowd, San Antonio erupted for 48 points in the second quarter, which ultimately kept them in the game.

While Edwards had a career-best night, Wembanyama finished with 39 points of his own. The two teams do not currently have another matchup scheduled, but it seems inevitable that Edwards and Wembanyama will clash again sometime soon.