The culture of the NBA has shifted over the league’s existence. The game truly went global when the Dream Team, led by Michael Jordan, headlined the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and captured not only the gold, but the hearts of millions. This sparked an international growth that the game is still experiencing 33 years later.
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And along with that growth has come an influx of overseas superstars. The best players in the league currently are non-American. Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama are prime examples. Wemby in particular has quickly ascended as one of the NBA’s biggest commodities.
He won Rookie of the Year in his first season, and was on track for a brilliant sophomore season before he was shut down due to a blood clot in his shoulder. Now he’s an early frontrunner in the MVP race (granted he doesn’t miss over 17 games due to his calf strain), and could be positioned as the next face of the NBA. But would America accept that?
This was the topic of conversation on The Young Man and The Three. The panel welcomed popular rapper Vince Staples to talk all things ball. Host Tommy Alter wondered what Staples thought of Wemby, and whether he could be the face of the NBA despite the fact that he is non-American. The 32-year-old musician gave his answer, but it uncovered a much more serious conversation.
“Kind of yeah. I think we undersell how racist America is. You can be who they’re pushing as the face but you have to look like what they want you to look like,” he stated. Staples continued, explaining that the optics of a black Frenchman being the frontrunner from a very American league might upset the status quo.
“I’m not saying he can’t. I’m just saying, I don’t know if any French guy is going to go over well in the stars and bars, and especially if you’re not like a white dude. White French is like different.”
Alter threw a wrench into the deeper conversation. “I just think he’s different. I just think there’s never been anything like him,” he responded. Staples then clarified what his statement. “I think he’s good. It’s not because he’s not good. I just don’t know how he’s going to speak the part, like the marketing of it,” Staples answered.
This comment led the rest of the show’s guests to weigh in. Journalist Van Lathan from The Ringer provided some very good insight. “The concept of other is just very strong in America. Oh you are other. You are something different. Look at that, you’re a little bit different.”
“Is Shohei Ohtani not the face of the MLB?” asked Alter, who attempted to keep the conversation going. The group then broke down how this past World Series was widely watched because baseball is so big in Japan and Ohtani and the Dodgers were back in for a second year.
What they realized is that despite basketball’s international appeal, the culture of the game is still different. But whoever does become the first non-American face will hopefully break that barrier. It was an important and respectful exchange that showed that sensitive topics can still be discussed civilly.
The convo also wasn’t really about whether Wemby is good enough to be the face of the NBA. Everyone on the panel already knows he is. It became a deeper look at what the league represents, how far it’s come, and the cultural hurdles it still has to clear.
If anything, the discussion proved that the NBA’s global rise has pushed these questions to the forefront, forcing fans to think beyond box scores and highlights. And if a player like Wembanyama can help spark that kind of dialogue, maybe that’s the clearest sign yet that the future of the league is already here.
